The Arizona Cardinals (3–12) travel to southern Ohio to take on the Cincinnati Bengals (5–10) in yet another matchup that has zero playoff implications. The two teams have been eliminated since Week 15, but are still jockeying for top draft selections. In other words, this will be a mid-tier tank bowl.
Despite being thrown into a maelstrom, which is the Arizona offense, Jacoby Brissett has not been half-bad in his time under center during the second half of the regular season. Brissett will be facing a Bengals defense that ranks 29th against the pass. Matter of fact, that is the best element of their defense, as they rank dead last overall, against the rush, and scoring.
This could be a big day for Trey McBride, who has 1,098 receiving yards this season and the most out of any tight end in 2025. Going against a lackluster passing defense in Cincinnati, it wouldn’t be a bold prediction to say that McBride would haul in 12 catches for over 100 yards. This would be incredibly feasible for a guy of his caliber, especially when going against a bottom-five defense.
MORE: Trial by Fire: Will Johnson’s Test in Cincinnati
This could be an intriguing game for Michael Carter, who is slated as the team’s No. 1 running back due to the mass amount of injuries the team has seen at the position. Carter is coming off a 65-yard game last week against the Atlanta Falcons, and he has the chance to eclipse those numbers against the worst run defense in the league.
The Cardinals will be without Budda Baker after he was ruled out with a concussion. However, the team will have Jalen Thompson and Max Melton back in the lineup. Those two, along with Will Johnson, were limited in practice all week and ran the risk of not playing on Sunday. Having them back to face a Joe Burrow-led team with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins as his top options is massive considering Arizona is missing its captain.
Arizona will be without Walter Nolen III, as the star rookie defensive lineman suffered a season ending knee injury last week. Without him, it is hard to put pressure on the quarterback, as his presence has cleared the way for other rushers to get home. The team will need someone else to step up in Nolen’s absence to provide even the slightest amount of pressure on Joe Burrow.
We usually pick the Cardinals to lose these games, but due to the lack of defense either team has, it will be a shootout. Potentially a game that comes down to whoever has the ball last.
Kickoff at 11:00 a.m. Mountain Time.
Prediction: Arizona 38 Cincinnati 34