NFL Cincinnati BengalsTampa Bay Buccaneers

Predicting the Final Score of Cincinnati Bengals vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Fresh Videos

By @davidrumseynfl

Cincinnati Bengals Quarterback Andy Dalton

Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

The Cincinnati Bengals will visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, and everyone will be expecting the Bengals continue the trend of AFC North teams beating up on NFC South teams. The AFC North is 10-1-1 against the NFC South in 2014. Where did that one loss come from? We can’t forget that the Bucs took down the Pittsburgh Steelers on the road in Week 3.

If the Bucs can stay in a close game with the Bengals, much like they did with the Steelers, they might be able to pull off another shocker.

The Bucs could have easily won last week in Chicago, but Josh McCown’s mind-blowing turnovers were too much for the rest of his team to overcome. The defense has only allowed 28 points total the past two games, and I expect good play on that side of the ball at home this week. If McCown can find a way to play like he did vs. Washington, the Bucs will certainly have a chance.

Andy Dalton is coming to town and the Bucs can only hope that he is willing to do some Andy Dalton things, like his 86-yard, three-INTs at home vs. the Cleveland Browns. Dalton has led the Bengals to two wins since that 24-3 Thursday night beatdown, but he only managed 233 yards and a TD this past week against the Houston Texans. If the Bucs can keep him from connecting with A.J. Green for any huge plays, Dalton shouldn’t be too much of a threat.

Running backs Giovani Bernard and Jeremy Hill are both likely to play on Sunday and each have the ability to be effective on the ground. The Bucs must put up points early or they will be subject to the Bengals being able to drain a lot of clock in the second half with those two backs.

All logical signs would probably point to the Bengals easily rolling over the Bucs this week, but the they shouldn’t feel too comfortable. Even though the Bucs only have two wins, they are still only two games out of first play in their division. Even if you don’t believe the Bucs have a chance to win it, they do, and will be playing with everything they have.

Turnovers will certainly be the deciding factor in this game. Either team could easily hand the other a win with a few stupid mistakes. I think the Bucs bounce back from a game they should have won last week, and the Bengals will begin a bad stretch that sees them lose control of the AFC North.

Final score prediction: Bucs 31, Bengals 27

David Rumsey is a Tampa Bay Buccaneers writer for RantSports. Follow him on Twitter, and Add him on Facebook or Google.

Share Tweet
Trending Now on