The Cincinnati Bengals face a brutally tough bounceback game against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 2.
Buy Bengals TicketsNot only is it a road encounter with an uncommon opponent, it will have a bigger primetime feel than the team’s usual, 1 p.m. ET slot because kickoff is 4:25 p.m. ET.
But if nothing else, the tune-up comes against a Cowboys team badly bitten by the injury bug just one week into the season. Not only will those Cowboys miss a starter along the offensive line, the headline item is elite quarterback Dak Prescott missing extensive time.
That means the Bengals will instead face backup quarterback Cooper Rush, a 28-year-old veteran who has appeared in just 11 games as a pro with one start, completing 60.3 percent of his passes with three touchdowns and one interception.
Dallas lost 19-3 in Week 1 to Tampa Bay while Rush attempted just 13 passes, totaling a 3-of-15 mark on third down with 244 total yards of offense.
None of this is to say the Bengals will have an easy time in Dallas. But it’s clearly an opportune time to pick up a win, especially with the struggling New York Jets on the schedule right after that.
