Falcons vs. Bengals: What Are Experts Saying About Cincinnati?

The Cincinnati Bengals earned a huge 23-16 win in Week 1 against division rival Baltimore Ravens. Not only did Cincinnati start the year on a positive note, but the win furthered the notion that this is a team to be reckoned with in the AFC North.

There were positives and negatives to take away from the Bengals' road opener on both sides of the ball. For instance, Cincinnati put up 23 points yet struggled in the red zone, settling for six field-goal attempts. Defensively, the Bengals held Joe Flacco in check for most of the game, but the unit still allowed a total of 423 yards of offense to the Ravens.

Needless to say, experts have mixed feelings about how the Bengals will fare in Week 2 against an Atlanta Falcons team that won by a score of 37-34 in an overtime thriller against the high-octane New Orleans Saints.

So, what are the gurus saying about this impending matchup? Let's take a look at five intriguing statements regarding Sunday's contest.

Kevin Chroust: Bengals' Running Game Will Get Back on Track

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Kevin Chroust of Yahoo Sports noted the Bengals' struggles on the ground—and the Falcons' struggles against the run—in Week 1. In his preview of the game, he believes Cincinnati may get back on track:

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The running game wasn't quite up to speed at 3.0 yards per carry on 26 attempts, which might have played a role in the team being unable to stay on the field in the second half with 10 minutes, 11 seconds of possession. The Bengals also converted just 4 of 14 third downs.

The Bengals' rushing fortunes could change against Atlanta, which gave up 139 yards to the Saints and has yielded 14 straight 100-yard efforts. The 148.3 yards allowed per game in that time trails only Chicago for the worst mark in the league.

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Cincinnati's running game didn't look spectacular against the Ravens on Sunday. However, Baltimore has owned one of the league's premier defenses for quite some time now, and the Bengals were playing in rather hostile territory. Chroust's numbers were right; although, he included Dalton's six carries for three yards. Giovani Bernard and Jeremy Hill averaged 3.4 and 4.8 yards per carry, respectively.

The Falcons were terrible against the run in 2013, allowing an average of 135.8 yards per game—good enough for 31st in the league. After their performance against the Saints, it appears that trend is continuing.

Mark Ingram carried 13 times for 60 yards and two scores against Atlanta in Week 1, while the team accumulated 139 yards on the ground. Ingram is not nearly as gifted of a ball-carrier as Bernard, so expect the second-year running back's numbers to increase in dramatic fashion in Week 2.

Coley Harvey: Andy Dalton No Longer Turnover Prone

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Coley Harvey of ESPN.com thinks quarterback Andy Dalton's turnover issues may be behind him. Here's what the Bengals analyst had to say during a conversation with Vaughn McClure:

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Already we've seen Dalton play relatively clean football. He didn't have a turnover in the preseason against the Chiefs', Jets' and Cardinals' first-team defenses, and he didn't have one against the Ravens last Sunday. He's starting to showcase some of his old college mobility with the read option, and he's giving defenses looks he hadn't previously shown. He also came into the season passing better, following instructions from quarterbacks coach Ken Zampese and off-team throwing instructor Tom House.

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Harvey is certainly correct. Dalton has shown an improved ability to take care of the football; however, he's still struggling with his reads at times—something that has proved to be an issue since he joined the NFL in 2011.

Still, Dalton's recent numbers are encouraging. He had several nice showings in the preseason, and his Week 1 stat line—he completed 25 of his 38 attempts for 301 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions for a passer rating of 98.7—bodes well for the 2014 season.

While there's still some concern in regards to Dalton keeping this trend alive, one telling statistic favors the quarterback: Dalton was not sacked by the Ravens in Week 1, and the Falcons failed to produce a consistent pass rush against the Saints.

Pro Football Focus (subscription required) ranks Cincinnati as the league's No. 10 pass-blocking line through one week. Atlanta's pass rush is ranked 22nd. For the purposes of this ensuing matchup, Dalton has the advantage.

Pete Prisco: Bengals Defensive Line Will Cause Problems

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Pete Prisco of CBS Sports brought up a great point during a video interview with Pat Kirwan in regards to the Falcons offensive line. Last season, the team was plagued by injury, and a 4-12 record was the end result. While the team is far healthier this season, the injury bug already struck:

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Last week the offense of the Falcons was darn good, but they lost left tackle Jake Matthews—and that's a concern. He'll be down for probably a week or so—or maybe a little more—with an injured ankle. That means Gabe Carimi goes in at left tackle. He went in and had some problems last week against Junior Galette. That could be trouble for the Atlanta Falcons this week—and Matt Ryan—as they go face a darn good front in the Cincinnati Bengals.

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The Falcons received a huge blow against the Saints, as first-round draft selection Matthews went down with an ankle injury. With Sam Baker already suffering a season-ending injury, Atlanta could be down to Gabe Carimi at left tackle against Cincinnati.

Should Carimi—who struggled last week—start for Atlanta, he'll line up across from Wallace Gilberry. During his Week 1 performance, Gilberry racked up four tackles, 1.5 sacks, two quarterback hits and a pass defensed. He could have a field day against Carimi.

If that's the case, the Falcons could begin to shift protection over to the left, leaving possible one-on-one matchups for Carlos Dunlap—who had one sack last week—on the other side. The offensive line is currently a glaring weakness for Atlanta, while Cincinnati's defensive line is one of its strengths. This could certainly end up being the positional matchup that decides the game.

Coley Harvey: Bengals Offense Will Eat Clock

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Coley Harvey of ESPN.com thinks the best way for Cincinnati to remain competitive with the prolific Atlanta offense is to keep it off the field by sustaining long drives. He noted the team's ability to do that against Baltimore:

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Against Ryan and the Falcons, the Bengals' best defense will be to play keep away, and also, naturally, to get into the end zone. The Bengals struggled last week with finishing drives that either made it to the red zone, or were close to it. They had six drives that ended inside Baltimore's 31, and all six resulted in field goal attempts. Five of the field goals were made, another was blocked. 

If the Bengals can get similar downfield movement, eat clock and get touchdowns, they have a good chance to keep this game well within reach. 

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As a defense, the Bengals have a daunting task of containing the likes of Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, Roddy White and Co. Last week, the Saints were able to keep up with the Falcons in terms of time of possession—New Orleans controlled the ball for 30 minutes, 25 seconds compared to Atlanta's 31:18.

It's easy to see where Harvey is coming from here. Keeping the ball out of Ryan's hands will keep the team's offense—and its ability to score a massive number of points—off the field. While that's a good strategy, Harvey's second point was even more noteworthy.

Simply put, the Bengals offense needs to get into the end zone.

While scoring 23 points against a good Ravens defense isn't bad, too many missed opportunities and field-goal attempts allowed Baltimore to climb back into the game late. In 2013, the only team to have a better red-zone percentage than Cincinnati's 71.43 percent was the Peyton Manning-led Denver Broncos, according to TeamRankings.com. This year, the Bengals sit at 0.0 percent entering the second week of the season.

Red-zone touchdowns are needed to get a win against the Falcons on Sunday.

Vaughn McClure: Falcons Must Watch for Giovani Bernard

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Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com stressed the importance of Atlanta's pass rush to get to Dalton in Week 2; however, he also warned about Bernard—the quarterback's shifty security blanket out of the backfield:

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The Falcons have to be aware of the quick screens Dalton likes to throw. They have to be alert of running back Giovani Bernard as a threat out of the backfield; he caught six passes last Sunday and was targeted 10 times. They have to [be] prepared for Dalton running the no-huddle. And they even have to be cautious of a few read-option plays Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson likes to sprinkle in.

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McClure mentions that Bernard was targeted 10 times against Baltimore. However, what he doesn't say is that those targets were a team high—A.J. Green was targeted nine times. Obviously, offensive coordinator Hue Jackson expects Bernard to have a crucial role in this offense in 2014, and his team-high 20 touches in Week 1 reflected just that.

Bernard is an enormous weapon out of the backfield. He displayed that throughout the 2013 season, breaking some long runs and gaining chunks of yardage on screens. Expect him to do more of the same on Sunday, considering how the Saints fared in this department against Atlanta.

Pierre Thomas—one of the league's best pass-catching running backs—tallied six receptions for 58 yards against the Falcons in Week 1. With Thomas gaining an average of 9.7 yards per reception, we can expect to see similar production from Bernard—especially with the added effort to apply pressure to Dalton.

A strong running game and high-percentage passes are factors that translate into success for Cincinnati. Should Atlanta's defense continue to play the way it did in Week 1 against New Orleans, Jackson's offense could be in for a field day.