Cincinnati Bengals Offense Struggles Again in Loss to Dallas Cowboys

The Cincinnati Bengals' Super Bowl hangover appears official. Despite visiting the Dallas Cowboys as 7-point favorites, the team stumbled badly again in Week 2, falling 20-17 to a team playing without its starting quarterback Dak Prescott. Now, the Bengals find themselves in an 0-2 hole in the ultra-competitive AFC with a schedule that only gets harder.

Following their Super Bowl loss to the Los Angeles Rams, the Bengals entered the offseason with a major priority: improving an offensive line that allowed quarterback Joe Burrow to be sacked a league-high 51 times. The team acquired tackle La'el Collins, guard Alex Cappa, and center Ted Karras hoping they could turn things around, but the team's pass-blocking might just be worse than ever. Burrow has been sacked 13 times in the season's first two weeks, and the offense has been completely out of sorts as a result. Burrow opened the season with a miserable five turnovers against the Steelers, and he managed an ineffective 3.93 net yards per passing attempt against the Cowboys. The Bengals better hope the Cowboys and Steelers presented unusually potent pass rushes. Otherwise, the Cincinnati offense might be irrevocably broken.

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Meanwhile, the Dallas Cowboys provided their fans with a little bit of hope following Week 1's devastating injury to quarterback Dak Prescott. The defense has proven stout in consecutive weeks now, holding the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Bengals to 36 combined points. The Cowboys may only need competence from their offense to stay alive in the NFC until Prescott's return, and they got it on Sunday. Backup quarterback Cooper Rush delivered a turnover-free 230 net yards passing and even led a drive for a game-winning field goal as time expired. If the team can get more from their running game, which only managed 107 yards on 27 carries, they'll have a chance to be competitive in every game they play.

Looking ahead to Week 3, the Dallas Cowboys travel to face their division rival New York Giants, and the Cincinnati Bengals will hope to get their first win when they visit the New York Jets.