Carson Palmer and the Arizona Cardinals (7-2) host his old team, the Cincinnati Bengals (8-1) to wrap up our Sunday of NFL Football.
Scroll on down for the live blog or keeep reading for some preview information.
First, here’s my pick from Friday Afternoon Quarterback.
Sunday Night
Cincinnati at Arizona (-4.5)
It’s the Carson Palmer bowl and a legitimate Super Bowl preview except it isn’t and no one really believes it will be. If the Bengals had won last week, I’d pick the Cardinals for sure. But “There’s no way Andy Dalton loses two games in a row!” Bengals 34, Cardinals 30
And here’s my entries from this week’s Power Rankings.
3. Cincinnati Bengals – (8-1) It was time to drop a game for the Bengals, really and the only factor that really makes it stick out is that the Patriots and Panthers haven’t. They’re past due, but on the bright side for the Bengals, they got their “crap the bed” game out of the way early. Last week: No. 2
4. Arizona Cardinals – (7-2) Suddenly the paper champions have started to look like they might be real champions. Is it too much to think we might end up with a Carson Palmer-themed Super Bowl with the Cardinals taking on the Bengals? Last week: No. 6
And here’s our own GMS Preview.
The Cincinnati Bengals (8-1) will travel to take on the Arizona Cardinals (7-2) this week in a battle between two quality teams. The NFL’s fourth-leading passer, Carson Palmer (2,749 yards, 23 TDs), and second-leading rusher, Chris Johnson (734 yards, 3 TDs), will play an integral role in the outcome of this game. Kickoff is at 8:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, Nov 22 and will air on NBC.
In last week’s game, Arizona got a win over the Seahawks 39-32. Michael Floyd had a great game in the victory, grabbing seven receptions for 113 yards and two TDs. Larry Fitzgerald had a great game as well, adding 130 yards on 10 catches. Cincinnati is hoping for a different outcome after losing to the Texans 10-6. Reggie Nelson led the defensive effort for Cincinnati, recording two tackles and one interception.
As a slim two-point underdog, the Bengals look to upend the Cardinals. The Over/Under (O/U) is sitting at 47 points.
Sitting at 7-2 Straight Up (SU) and 6-3 Against The Spread (ATS), the Cardinals will look to improve heading into Week 11. In their five most recent matchups, the Cardinals went 4-1 SU and 3-2 ATS. A focal point of Arizona’s offense at home is its passing game, which ranks fifth in the league with 303 passing yards per home game. During their last five games, the Cardinals have done a better job stopping the run, giving up an average of 81.4 rushing yards. The Bengals need to put emphasis on preparing for Arizona’s sneaky defense. It currently has the most interceptions with 1.5 per home game. Arizona will face one of the worst road fourth quarter scoring defenses in the league. The Bengals allow an average of 9.2 points on the road. Arizona, one of the least penalized teams in the NFL (fourth), is likely to stay in the referees’ good graces this week. The team has averaged 49 penalty yards per game this season.
Across the field, the Bengals head into Week 11 with records of 7-1-1 ATS and 8-1 SU. Over their last five games, the Bengals have a SU record of 4-1 and a 3-1-1 record ATS.
Predictions: SU Winner – Ari, ATS Winner – Ari, O/U – Over
The game is on NBC at 8:20 p.m. What if we watched it together?
