InSpin

Cincinnati vs. Houston

The Bengals have a chance this weekend.  When you are 0-7, that means a lot. The winless Bengals travel to Houston to visit the Texans at Reliant Stadium this Sunday. The Texans are wrapping up a solid month at home after Hurricane Gustav skewed their schedule into three road games to start out the year. All told the month respite has been positive for Houston as they have gone 2-1, having won the last two in a row over Miami and Detroit. They could be 3-0 at home this season if they could have held on to that lead in their home opener October 5 against Indianapolis.

The Cincinnati Bengals have a chance in this game simply because they have trends on their side. No one since the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-14) have gone winless and no one has gone 0-16, so odds are Cincinnati will get a victory at some point this season. And why not against Houston whom the Bengals are 3-0 against all time.

Of course trends do not play games and the reality of the situation is the Bengals are a banged up team.

Carson Palmer appears done for 2008. The All-Pro quarterback has missed two games, is out for Houston for sure and it looks as if IR is looming on the horizon. After a throttling at the hands of Pittsburgh 35-7, times may be getting tougher and not better for Cincinnati. If backup quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick will be taking over for the rest of the year, the Bengals offense line better give him more protection or he won’t be starting for very long either. The Steelers sack Fitzpatrick seven times last week. That increased the total to 15 in the four game Fitzpatrick has started. He was able to stay upright enough time to get the ball to Chad Johnson, who caught a season high eight passes and a touchdown last week, but his yards after catch were almost nonexistent, as he recored only 52 yards with those eight catches.

Until just a few weeks ago, the Houston Texans were also trying to find their first win. Three weeks later they are 2-4 and seeing a winnable game at home to go one step closer to .500. Many people saw the Texans as a sleeper in this year’s AFC until Gustav put a kink in their hopes. Houston is in last place and must not only win but hope division mates Indianapolis, Jacksonville and Tennessee start to falter. This may be a too tough of a request as two of those teams made last years’ postseason and the other is currently the NFL’s lone undefeated team. Nonetheless, Houston (2-4) got a little more confidence with their second straight win last week against Detroit and will do what they can do to get back in the AFC race.

InSpin.com

Dallas -2 vs. Tampa Bay

If a Dallas Cowboys‘ fan woke up in August dreaming of their 13 win team from 2007 falling to a pedestrian 4-3 in 2008 after losing to a lousy St. Louis team, whom they decimated 35-7 one year ago, and saw an injured Tony Romo riding the pine and Adam Pacman Jones mysteriously missing, they would have brushed away the cold sweat from their brow consoling themselves it was only a nightmare. Sorry to tell you this Tex, but it is really late October and your gridiron heroes have indeed done exactly what you feared.

The Cowboys have experienced more scandals and setbacks than they have victories this season.  Sandwiched between their losses to Arizona and St. Louis, the Cowboys’ lost their starting Pro-Bowl quarterback, their best cornerback and continue to sputter in the hotly contested NFC East standings. Since starting the season perfect in three games and looking as good as last year’s team which stormed through the regular season, Dallas has lost three out of four and two straight. In fact the Cowboys are just a touchdown against the winless Bengals away from losing four straight and having a losing record.

Even though Romo flirted with coming back for the Rams game, which Dallas (4-3) lost 34-14, it appears the team will have to come to terms with the fact that he will not be back until at least the middle of November.

Things do not get easier for the Brad Johnson-led Cowboys as they play host to the NFC South’s number one team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and attempt to avoid a three game losing streak for the first time since 2004. Johnson appeared rusty in his first start since 2006, throwing for three interceptions. Johnson personally knows it will be a tough test going up against a solid Bucs defense since he was the quarterback who propelled the Bucs to their Super Bowl title in 2002. The Bucs (5-2) are second in the league with 12 interceptions and eighth in total defense.

Tampa Bay continues to impress after winning 27-3 win over division rival Carolina in Week 6 and then beating the visiting Seahawks 20-10 in a solid Sunday night outing last week. The Bucs held Seattle to 176 yards and 7 first downs.

The Bucs had a 402-176 advantage over the Seahawks in total yards, and limited Seattle to seven first downs. One thing Dallas may have going for them is while Tampa Bay has dominated at Raymond James Stadium going undefeated in four game, they have struggled to a 1-2 road record thus far and needed a late rally to get by the Bears in overtime at Soldier Field on September 21.

InSpin.com