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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.

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Cowboys -17 vs. Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals may be in the wrong place at the wrong time as they head to Irving, Texas to take on the Dallas Cowboys.

The Bengals (0-4) are still seeking their first victory of the season and will probably need an A+ effort from everyone in order to obtain it in Dallas. This may be exceedingly tough if quarterback Carson Palmer misses his second straight start. Palmer is questionable and Ryan Fitzpatrick is waiting in the wings to start again.  Bengals' fans may be sending Palmer a get well card, seeing as how Fitzpatrick threw for three interceptions and lost one fumble in Cincinnati's 20-12 loss to Cleveland in the semi-yearly Battle of Ohio. It did not help Fitzpatrick that Cincinnati has no running attack. Chris Perry is not cutting it, in the wake of Rudi Johnson's departure, so much so that the Bengals are negotiating with former Chicago Bear and first round bust Cedric Benson.

Meanwhile the Cowboys (3-1) are an angry bunch. With a home loss to their arch rival Washington Redskins still sticking firmly in their craw, the Cowboys are bent on revenge and the Bengals may just be the sacrificial lamb they are seeking. Terrell Owens opened his yammer minutes after Dallas' 26-24 loss Sunday to say he was not getting the ball enough, even though Tony Romo threw his way 17 times versus Washington, connecting with the receiver on seven of those passes. Like him or not, Owens almost always backs up his belly aching and griping with a stellar game the next time out and he always rises to the occasion in matchups against other top receivers in the game, such as this week's opponent, Chad Johnson (A.K.A. Ocho Cinco). Regardless of T.O. getting the ball or not, Romo and Jason Whitten continue to be a dynamic duo with 7 passes for 90 yards and a touchdown going to the Pro Bowl tight end.

The Bengals next take on the resurgent New York Jets in New Jersey while Dallas Cowboys will travel to the desert to take on the Arizona Cardinals.

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