The Bengals head to Dallas for a Monday Night Football showdown with the Dallas Cowboys in Week 14. The Cowboys have rebounded from five straight losses to win their last two games and sit at 5-7 on the year.
Cowboys Offense
Quarterback Cooper Rush took command of the Dallas offense after starter Dak Prescott suffered a season-ending hamstring injury in early November. Rush came in relief of Prescott in Week 9 against the Falcons and has started the subsequent four games, going 2-2 and tossing four touchdowns to one interception in those contests. PFF charts Rush with six turnover-worthy plays in his four starts, tied for the second most over that span. However, he has just one turnover-worthy throw in the last two games, and Dallas has won both. Cowboys quarterbacks have taken 30 sacks this season.
The Cowboys have the second-least rushing yards in the NFL (1,030) and the least rushing touchdowns (four) as a team. Rico Dowdle leads the running back room with 600 yards on 134 attempts, while veteran Ezekiel Elliott paces the unit with two rushing touchdowns. Dowdle's 4.5 yards per attempt ranks within the top-20 among running backs with at least 50 carries and is tied with Bengals running back Chase Brown. Per PFF, Dowdle averages 3.19 yards after contact per attempt, also a top-20 figure among backs with at least 50 carries.
Wideout CeeDee Lamb serves as the focal point of the Dallas passing attack, leading the NFL with 118 targets. The former Oklahoma Sooner is tied with Ja'Marr Chase for second in the NFL with 79 receptions and ranks tied for fifth with 880 receiving yards. Behind Lamb, tight end Jake Ferguson is next in line with 43 receptions, but he has missed the last two games with a concussion. In his place, Luke Schoonmaker has eight catches for 88 yards and a score over the last two games. Jalen Tolbert and Lamb are tied for the team lead with four receiving touchdowns apiece.
Cowboys Defense
Defensively, the Cowboys are led by edge rusher Micah Parsons. The 2021 first-round pick from Penn State has played in just eight games this season, but he ranks fourth among edge rushers with a 90.9 PFF pass-rush grade. He is coming off a 1.5-sack performance in the team's win over the New York Giants on the season and has 43 total pressures, still a top-15 figure at his position despite the missed time. As a team, the Cowboys rank fifth with a 77.2 pass-rush grade and have tallied 34 sacks. However, the Cowboys give up 8.0 yards per attempt through the air, tied for the second most in the NFL. They've allowed nine passes of at least 40 yards downfield, which is also tied for the second most in the league.
The Cowboys secondary did get cornerback DaRon Bland back from injury in Week 12: Bland's 82.2 PFF-coverage grade ranks 13th over that stretch among defenders with at least 25 coverage snaps. Former All-Pro corner Trevon Diggs has missed the last two games for Dallas with injury.
In the run game, Dallas has allowed 4.9 yards per carry, tied for the third-most in the NFL, and 21 rushing touchdowns, the most in the league. The Cowboys' 47.5 PFF run-defense grade is the third-worst in the NFL.
On special teams, Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey has been lethal from distance this season. He has drilled eight-of-nine field goals from beyond 50 yards and hit the longest field goal in the league this season, a 65-yarder in Week 3 against the Ravens. In total, Aubrey has made 27-of-32 field goal attempts.
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