Arizona Cardinals vs Cincinnati Bengals: Preview, prediction
The AFC North leading Cincinnati Bengals make a prime time visit to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday Night Football.
The Cincinnati Bengals are travelling to Glendale to take on the Arizona Cardinals in the Cardinals last showdown with an AFC North team. The Bengals (8-1) are coming off of a surprising loss against an AFC South leading Houston Texans team, 10-6. The Arizona Cardinals (7-2) survived a tough road battle on Sunday Night Football against a struggling Seattle Seahawks team 39-32.
History: The Cardinals and the Bengals have faced each other 10 times in the regular season, and the Cardinals played 3 of these games as the St. Louis Cardinals. The Arizona Cardinals have an all time 4-6 record against the Cincinnati Bengals. The latest win against the Bengals came in Week 11 of the 2011 season. The Arizona Cardinals won at Cincinnati by a score of 35-27.
What: Arizona Cardinals vs. Cleveland Browns
Where: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, AZ
When: 6:30 PM Arizona Time (8:30 PM EST)
TV: NBC
Radio: Arizona Sports 98.7 FM
Keys to victory:
Last week after losing a 15 point lead, former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer led the Arizona Cardinals on two back to back touchdown to allow the Cardinals to leave Seattle with a very important win. If the Cardinals can react like that after facing adversity, there’s no telling where this team can go.
Quarterback Carson Palmer has openly said that isn’t just another game. It’s a game against Palmer’s former team, the team that forced him into semi-retirement before he was traded to the Raiders mid-season in 2011. So with Palmer having some extra motivation this week expect to have a big game ahead of him. After coming off of a 3 touchdown performance last week against the Seattle, Palmer has some momentum heading into this game.
However, there could be some changes on the offensive line. Mike Iupati who was carted off in last week’s win against the Seahawks is expected to play and start for the Cardinals. On the other hand, guard Johnathan Cooper will not start the game as he has a knee injury, but will be active and will play if necessary. With the Bengals having a formidable defensive line who could very well be trying to target Palmer, the Cardinals offensive line will have to bring their A game and keep Palmer up right.
The Cardinals could be with out their #2 and #3 receivers as John Brown and Michael Floyd who are nursing hamstring injuries, and with the possibility of the running game being stifled, it could be a big day for Larry Fitzgerald, and Seattle heroes Jaron Brown and Brittan Golden. Fitzgerald is having the best season in his career and will have to carry a majority of the offensive load along with Carson Palmer.