Admin December 9, 2024
NFL Overreactions Week 14
Mackenzie Salmon breaks down the biggest NFL storylines from Week 14.
Sports Seriously
The Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys meet in a “what could have been” matchup on “Monday Night Football.”
Both teams entered the 2024 season with Super Bowl-or-bust expectations, but right now the arrow is pointing closer in the direction of “bust” than it is Lombardi trophy.
Joe Burrow and the Bengals have skidded to 4-8 and have a long, outside shot to make the playoffs. Wins, though, have been hard to come by for the extremely talented and effective Bengals: Offensively, the Bengals are among the best in the NFL and have scored 25 points or more in eight games this season.
Their record in those games is anything but pretty: Cincinnati owns a 2-6 mark in those games, speaking largely to the porous defense fielded in 2024.
But the Bengals D should – should – be able to contain the Cooper Rush-led Cowboys attack. Since filling in for the injured Dak Prescott, Rush has been serviceable as Cowboys starter, throwing five touchdowns to two interceptions on the season.
At 5-7, Dallas isn’t out of the playoff picture entirely just yet, but every win – and a lot of help around the NFC – will go a long way in the home stretch of the regular season.
USA TODAY Sports will provide live updates, highlights and more from the “Monday Night Football” matchup between the Cowboys and Bengals below.
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- Start time: 8:15 p.m. ET (7:15 p.m. CT)
- Location: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
The Bengals head south to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, to take on the Cowboys in prime time on Monday night.
- TV channel: ABC | ESPN | ESPN2
ESPN again is the broadcast home of “Monday Night Football.” The longtime team of Joe Buck (play-by-play) and Troy Aikman (color) will be on the call, with Lisa Salters adding reports from the sideline.
Viewers can also tune to ESPN2 for the “ManningCast” featuring Peyton and Eli Manning. The “ManningCast” guest list includes Bill Belichick — who is a regular on the show — as well as singer-songwriter John Legend and NBC analyst (and former Bengals wide receiver) Cris Collinsworth.
- Live stream: Fubo | ESPN+
For cord cutters looking for a live stream for the matchup, you can turn to Fubo. Fubo carries NBC, as well as CBS, FOX, NFL Network and the ESPN family of networks, meaning you can catch NFL action through the remainder of the season.
ESPN+, ESPN’s proprietary streaming service, will also carry the game.
Stream the “Monday Night Football” game on Fubo
- LB Damone Clark
- CB Andrew Booth
- S Juanyeh Thomas
- RB Deuce Vaughn
- WR Jalen Brooks
- DE Tyrus Wheat
- WR Charlie Jones
- S Daijahn Anthony
- OT Orlando Brown Jr.
- TE Tanner McLachlan
- DT Sheldon Rankins
Mike McCarthy as a Homer Simpson avatar is no longer something fans of the NFL and “The Simpsons” have to imagine.
Welcome to 2024 and this battle of the streaming wars, as Disney and ESPN unveil its most alternative alt-cast for “Monday Night Football” as the Cowboys host the Bengals.
“We were just so lucky also that the Cowboys are sort of like a Homer Simpson-type team, American team, and Mike McCarthy might be a Homer-type guy, one might imagine,” “The Simpsons” showrunner Matt Selman said on a conference call last week. “And then you have Joe Burrow on the other side who is a cool young, spiky-haired, blonde bad boy – he’s like Bart. And that fits our character archetypes so perfectly.” — Chris Bumbaca
Watch ‘The Simpsons Monday Night Football’ alt cast
Here’s how the USA TODAY Sports staff feels the Cowboys vs. Bengals “MNF” matchup will sway:
- Lorenzo Reyes: Bengals 26, Cowboys 17
- Tyler Dragon: Bengals 28, Cowboys 21
- Richard Morin: Bengals 28, Cowboys 15
- Jordan Mendoza: Bengals 34, Cowboys 24
The Bengals are favorites to defeat the Cowboys, according to the BetMGM NFL odds. Not interested in this game? Check out expert picks and best bets for every NFL game this week.
- Spread: Bengals (-4.5)
- Moneyline: Bengals (-225); Cowboys (+185)
- Over/under: 50.5
- Philadelphia Eagles: 11-2
- Washington Commanders: 8-5
- Dallas Cowboys: 5-7
- New York Giants: 2-11
- Pittsburgh Steelers: 10-3
- Baltimore Ravens: 8-5
- Cincinnati Bengals: 4-8
- Cleveland Browns: 3-10
According to BetMGM Sportsbook, the Cowboys have +3000 odds to to make the playoffs entering Week 14. That implied probability gives Dallas a 3.23% chance of qualifying for the postseason.
That’s greater than the estimated 1% chance that the New York Times gives the Cowboys to win their way into the postseason. That speaks to the fact that Dallas would likely need to win out and receive plenty of help to claw its way back into the NFC playoff race after a 3-7 start to the season.
The Cowboys’ five remaining opponents have a combined winning percentage of .508, per Tankathon. That makes Dallas’ remaining schedule the 17th toughest of the NFL’s 32 teams entering Week 14.
The said, the Cowboys will face a test on “Monday Night Football” in Week 14 against a high-flying Cincinnati Bengals offense. Dallas will also end the season with two divisional games, so that will make it difficult to win out.
That makes it easy to understand why oddsmakers aren’t bullish the Cowboys’ chances of making a playoff push, especially considering that they would need a team in front of them, like the Commanders, to falter.
Below is a full look at Dallas’ schedule:
The Bengals travel to Jerry World on Monday night. The Week 14 “MNF” matchup will kick off at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
AT&T Stadium has hosted one Super Bowl — Super Bowl XLV between the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers. It also was the host site for the 2018 NFL draft. The stadium also hosted the first College Football Playoff national championship game in 2015, which was won by the Ohio State Buckeyes against the Oregon Ducks.
➤ Ranking NFL’s stadiums from 1 to 30: Where does Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium rate?
The roof is closed at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, so weather will not be a factor in Monday night’s game.
The New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers are tied for the most Super Bowl wins with six.
The Dallas Cowboys are tied with the San Francisco 49ers for the second-most Super Bowls titles with five. While the Cowboys have made eight Super Bowl appearances (tied for the second-most with the 49ers and Steelers), the team hasn’t played for the NFL title since the 1995 season when it won Super Bowl XXX. The Cincinnati Bengals have made three Super Bowl appearances, the most recent being during the 2021 season when they lost to the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl 56. The Bengals are one of 12 NFL teams that have never won a Super Bowl.
NFL franchises with most Super Bowl wins:
➤ Super Bowl winners: All-time scores, results for NFL title game
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Check out the latest edition …
➤ Best (and worst) from NFL Week 14: Rams win shootout, Chiefs ‘doink’ for division
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