The Bengals were strong in their preseason debut nearly doubling the Giants in yardage with over 200 yards both rushing and passing in a 23-10 home win and cover.
Will they be as motivated to dominate this road contest?
ODDS
The Buccaneers are a 2-point favorite over the Bengals with a total of 40.
Lovie Smith is 1-4 in the preseason as head coach of the Buccaneers following last week’s loss at Minnesota. Tampa Bay went 0-2 SU/ATS at home scoring 14 and 10 points in last year’s defeats.
QUARTERBACK ROTATION
Andy Dalton should play another series after completing all three of his passes for 31 yards and a touchdown in last week’s win. Backup A.J. McCarron says he will make his preseason debut after missing the exhibition season a year ago, and missed last week’s opening game with a freak chest injury.
He’ll get more reps as Josh Johnson hasn’t had a good camp and didn’t look too good against the Giants despite an 11-of-21 showing for 175 yards passing.
Bucs rookie and No. 1 overall pick Jameis Winston had an sub-par debut at Minnesota going 9-of-19 for 131 yards and an INT along with a rushing touchdown. He’ll get more work and Mike Glennon will also play plenty after passing for 98 yards on nine completions last week.
COACHES' MOTIVATION
The Bucs have more to prove with a young team and more position battles for starting spots. But that doesn’t mean they’ll out-play a Bengals team ready to make a big statement this season.
Cincinnati's defense should be strong and deep this season. The Bengals are perhaps licking there chops at a shot to hit quarterback Winston often, and the motivation comes from a cohesive and talented team establishing a championship culture.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"I'll be ready to go no matter what," McCarron said. "I'm not sitting out another game. I wanted to play last week. It was the doctors, Mr.Brown, coach Lewis, they're the ones that advised me not to. I really didn't have a say-so when it came to them." - Bengals quarterback A.J. McCarron on playing Monday night.
POSITION BATTLE TO WATCH
Bengals – Dre Kirkpatrick is having a breakout camp and has been the team’s best player in the defensive backfield. He teams with Adam Jones at the boundary cornerback while veteran Leon Hall is trying to hold off Darqueze Dennard at the other corner.
Bucs - the injury to offensive lineman Demarcus Dotson has opened up competition on the right side of the line, and Gosder Cherilus is the one to watch.
INJURIES
Bengals’ cornerback Darqueze Dennard is battling a groin injury as he pushes for a starting spot. Defensive end Michael Johnson is out until at least the regular season opener with a sprained MCL.
Bucs offensive tackle Demar Dotson is expected to miss anywhere from two to six games, depending on his recovery from a severely sprained MCL suffered last week. Safety Chris Conte has been out since the second day of training camp.
Like many teams, the Bucs have a litany of minor injuries with the coaches coy on timetables and projected preseason play.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
The Bucs’ defensive line is taking shape and has depth, and they showed well at Minnesota in holding the Vikings to 104 rushing yards on 29 carries. The Bengals defensive line is the team’s deepest position, and has a strong mix of linebackers with veterans and youngsters.
Tampa Bay’s offense is a complex one to learn under new offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter. A rookie quarterback and two rookie offensive linemen including left tackle Donovan Smith are expected to start. Plenty of growing pains are expected for a team with many weak spots to fill.
The Bucs will be fortunate to win five games this season, and while they'll player harder in front of their home fans, it’ll still be a tough go of it against a stronger and deeper Bengals team.
The running game should be slowed by both defenses, and with rookie Winston and sub-par backup quarterbacks leading both offenses, we don't foresee the scoreboard operators getting a workout in this contest.
Bengals 20, Buccaneers 13
BookMaker opened the spread for this Sunday game at -2 in favor of the Buccaneers. The NFL odds total surfaced at 40. Now you can wager in-game while the action unfolds with BookMaker's live betting option.
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