- WHERE: AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas)
- WHEN: 8:15 p.m. ET | ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, Disney+, NFL+
The season might be starting to get serious, but Monday night's matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals (4-8) and the Dallas Cowboys (5-7) will come with an extra bit of fun.
The two teams are set to feature in the second annual Funday Football telecast, with this year's game taking fans to Springfield for "The Simpsons Funday Football." where Bart Simpson will team up with the Bengals while Homer Simpson sides with the Cowboys. The alternate viewing presentation, which will transform Monday Night Football in real-time into the iconic animated Simpsons world using Sony's Beyond Sports Technology, will stream on Disney+ and ESPN+, and on mobile with NFL+.
Though there's only one game separating the two teams' records, Cincinnati and Dallas find themselves entering Monday's game on two different trajectories. The Cowboys, who lost starting quarterback Dak Prescott earlier this season to a hamstring injury, nevertheless are riding a two-game win streak behind Cooper Rush. The Bengals, in contrast, have lost four of their last five, including last week's divisional defeat to the Steelers in a barnburner of a game.
With the playoff races in each conference heating up and spots starting to get secured, a win here keeps one of these teams' faint wild card hopes alive, while a loss takes them out of contention.
Here are four things to watch for when the Bengals visit the Cowboys on Monday night on ESPN and NFL+:
1) Cincy D needs a win. It’s no surprise that the Bengals defense warrants discussion at this point of the season. The offensive accolades of Joe Burrow rank among some of the best seasons in history, yet the team is on the brink of elimination because it can’t stop opponents from scoring. Cincinnati has given up 34 or more points in four of the last five games, including in last week’s 44-38 loss to the Steelers, who had previously averaged 22.9 points per game. The Bengals rank 31st in points allowed, 30th in red zone defense and 21st in takeaways, hard statistics to overcome for any team. It doesn’t help that Cincy continues to lose starters to injury, most recently DJ Turner II (collarbone) and Logan Wilson (knee), both placed on injured reserve in the last few weeks. The question now becomes whether this group can find a way to stop the bleeding and pull its weight Monday. The Cowboys present a relatively favorable matchup, as they’re starting backup QB Cooper Rush and averaging just 20.7 points per game. The question is whether the Bengals can take advantage, or as with the Steelers last week, it’ll be another high-scoring day for their opponent.
2) Dallas D trying to build on last week against No. 1 offense. The Cowboys have dealt with their own defensive woes this season, actually ranking just above the Bengals in points allowed by giving up 28.3 points per game, tied for 29th in the league. However, Dallas’ most recent performance could be a signal of better things on the horizon. The Cowboys held the Giants to 247 yards and 20 points on Thanksgiving, the first time they’ve limited an opponent to fewer than 21 points since Week 5. They had six sacks -- led by Micah Parsons' 1.5 takedowns -- and two takeaways, including Demarvion Overshown’s 23-yard pick-six. That was the Drew Lock-captained Giants, of course, and this week they’ll be trying to replicate that success against Joe Burrow, which is a whole different ball game. But the Cowboys will be hoping the possible return of some key players could help in this endeavor. Cornerback Trevon Diggs (questionable; knee) hasn’t played the last two weeks, but he’s participated in a limited capacity in each of this week’s practices, leaving the door open for him to return this week. If he does, it will be the first time that Diggs and cornerback DaRon Bland take the field together this season, as the latter returned two weeks ago from a foot injury that had sidelined him since August.
3) Storylines aplenty for star wideouts. With the passing attack standing as the strength of each team’s offense -- the Bengals rank No. 1 and the Cowboys No. 7 in passing yards -- you can expect all eyes to be on the teams’ star receivers this week. The Bengals have multiple weapons handy for Joe Burrow to target, but his best friend remains Ja’Marr Chase, who has more than double his closest teammate in both receiving yards (1,142) and touchdowns (13), both of which also lead the league. With five games left, Chase has a real shot of earning the triple crown by leading in the top three receiving categories. With an offseason ahead that’s expected to feature new contract negotiations, this would be quite the feather in his cap for the 24-year-old receiver. The only one of the three categories Chase doesn’t currently hold the lead in is receptions. He ranks second behind Brock Bowers (84) heading into Week 14 and is tied with the man who’ll be facing him from the opposite sideline on Monday, CeeDee Lamb (both with 79). Lamb has similarly been the focal point of the Dallas offense this season, recording 880 yards and four touchdowns while on pace for his fourth consecutive year with 1,000-plus yards. However, he enters Monday’s contest nursing the AC joint injury he’s been dealing with for weeks and aggravated in last week’s win. While the wideout has said he’ll be on the field Monday and indeed is off the team's injury report, it will be important to see whether his shoulder will hamper his play at all.
4) Ground game a struggle on both sides. While stars at the top of their game are the story for each team’s passing offense, the running games, in comparison, have been a letdown. The Bengals and Cowboys rank 27th and 31st, respectively, in rushing yards per game, making this a possible area for separation between two otherwise potent offenses. Since Joe Mixon, Cincinnati's leading rusher last year, left for the Texans this offseason, the Bengals have struggled to find a replacement that can earn consistent yardage on the ground. Chase Brown has been shouldering the load, but the second-year running back has so far come up wanting, averaging 56.4 rushing yards per game and recording just one game with 100-plus yards. Khalil Herbert was added at the trade deadline to bolster the unit, but so far through three games has one rush for 14 yards. Meanwhile, the Cowboys’ initial committee approach has fallen flat and given way to Rico Dowdle taking the lead back role. Though he’s averaged 54.5 yards per game, Dowdle is coming off his best outing of the season against the Giants on Thanksgiving. He had 112 rushing yards and a touchdown -- his first time eclipsing 90 yards this season -- to lead the team to its second-highest rushing total of the season. Both Dowdle and Brown average 4.5 yards per carry, just about the league average (4.4), but a better-than-average performance on Monday could help their team to a much-needed win.
