Subscribers are taking notice of my five-game Bengals prediction winning streak. But I can't get cocky. One game at a time, y'all. Here are my weekly predictions for the Bengals and Cincinnati Bearcats games:
NFL prediction: Cincinnati Bengals (3-3) vs. Atlanta Falcons (3-3), 1 p.m., Sunday, FOX
The Bengals’ offense finally appears on the right track but now their run defense is broken.
That should be a big concern going into Sunday. The Falcons rank third in the NFL with 165.2 yards rushing per game.
Cincinnati is feeling the absence of defensive tackle D.J. Reader, who’s missed three full games with a knee injury and will be out again this weekend. The Bengals now are presumably without injured linebacker Logan Wilson, the team’s second-leading tackler.
The Bengals surrendered a season-high 228 rushing yards in last Sunday’s win at New Orleans. Cincinnati has given up a total of 383 yards rushing in the last two games. The Bengals had allowed 343 total rushing yards through the first four games.
The Atlanta game was originally circled as a sure win. But the Bengals are likely in for a battle, given the injuries on defense. The Falcons also have overachieved, winning three of their last four games.
