Cincinnati Bengals: Breakdowns and Predictions for Cincinnati's Remaining Games

After five games, we're not really sure what to make of the Cincinnati Bengals.  Breaking down what they have left in front of them is not going to be an easy task.

However, what you have to examine is whether or not this team can continue to click.  They've certainly had their ups and downs, accompanied by a few growing pains.  All that aside, they've clicked well enough to put together three wins through five games.

Some experts thought this team wouldn't win even that many all season.  There's no point in looking back at the past anymore—the ball is rolling and Cincinnati needs to keep the momentum moving.

Without further ado, here is some analysis and predictions for the rest of Cincy's 2011 season.

Week 6: vs. Indianapolis Colts

It's been one of the roughest starts in the Colts' storied history, to say the very least.  They're now 0-5 for the first time since 1997.

With Peyton Manning out, Curtis Painter is stepping in as the team's leader.  While I give him credit for not having thrown an interception after three games, it's clear that he won't win many games.

The Colts' subpar offense will be going up against a solid Cincinnati defense—a defense that is currently the best in the NFL.  Reggie Nelson and Chris Crocker will be giving Painter fits in the secondary, while Rey Maualuga and Domata Peko apply pressure on blitzing plays.

Even worse for the Colts, their defense is worse than their offense.  While the Bengals' offense isn't even a top 20 candidate, they click very well at times.  This is especially true of the relationship between Andy Dalton and A.J. Green, who are putting their names on the map as a very good quarterback-receiver duo.

In the end, Dalton throws for 300 yards, Painter throws at least a couple interceptions and Cincinnati rolls to a 31-13 victory at home, which would improve them to 4-2.

Week 8: at Seattle Seahawks

This game is going to be one of those "who cares" games for a lot of NFL fans.  However, this could be one of the more interesting games of Week 8.

Cincinnati will be coming off a bye week, so my first thought is to wonder how this young team will bounce back from a down week.  They should begin to get better after some rest.

They'll be facing a very so-so Seattle defense.  Andy Dalton is beginning to settle in, and he's getting a little better every week.  We can't be sure how fast he'll progress, but he's shown plenty of signs over the past couple weeks that he is capable of being an NFL quarterback.

Meanwhile, Cedric Benson is still battling a suspension, so he may or may not be on the field for this one.  If he is, he gives the Bengals a bit of an edge as they'll have both a respectable passing and running game on the field.  Without Benson, Bernard Scott and Brian Leonard are left to run, but neither of them are ready for such a responsibility.

The Seahawks continue to look like a team playing for 2012, though their Week 5 victory over the G-men was very impressive.  Tarvaris Jackson, who hasn't been really impressive or terrible so far, had a decent game going before exiting with an injury.  Charlie Whitehurst stepped up to lead the Seahawks back in the fourth quarter, but he's shown before that he's rather incompetent with sloppy and questionable throws.

You'd think either quarterback could step up a little better with Sidney Rice and Mike Williams as your receivers, but they've not done so.  The Bengals' strong defense should have no issues shutting down Whitehurst/Jackson and Marshawn Lynch.

Seattle keeps it close, but Cincinnati dominates on the defensive side and climbs to a surprising 5-2 with a 21-17 win.

Week 9: at Tennessee Titans

Despite a Week 5 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Titans are putting together a nice season thus far.  They're 3-2, and Matt Hasselbeck looks to be reborn, as he is averaging 272 yards a game.  The offense's issue, shockingly, has been a lack of production by Chris Johnson.

Tennessee is averaging a league-worst 66.6 yards per game.  Still, by this time in the season, I expect CJ2K to pick his act up.  We all know he's talented, but he needed a few games to get going after missing basically the entire preseason over contractual issues.

Something else to consider is that the Titans' defense is respectable—they're actually 10th in the league.  That ranking was knocked back after they were dominated by Pittsburgh.

This doesn't bode well for the Bengals' lackluster offensive line.  The Titans are heavy up front with Jurrell Casey blitzing and Barrett Ruud at the linebacker position.  Due to injuries in the secondary, however, Andy Dalton may be able to put together another good game.

Dalton is going to be forced to hurry a lot of passes in this game, so Cedric Benson (should he be playing and not suspended) needs to step up against the Titans.  It's one thing for a running back to be able to bounce by defenders, but it's another for a rookie quarterback to try to hurry a throw due to no protection.

These two shocking teams engage in a good battle, but Tennessee emerges victorious, 20-10.  The Bengals fall to 5-3.

Week 10: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

As of now, the Bengals have the top-ranked defense.  The Steelers are right behind them at the No. 2 position.

This is going to be a pure defensive struggle.  Being in Cincinnati, the Bengals' defense should be more determined than ever to step up and beat the defending AFC champions.  This will not come easy against a Steeler offense that is currently 12th overall, but everyone knows is better than that.

Pittsburgh's defense is going to blitz all day long, effectively shutting down Andy Dalton.  Their defense against the pass is best in the league, and I don't see a rookie changing that.  However, without James Harrison, their run defense has a gaping hole.

Enter Cedric Benson.  This is the game he needs to step up in, and if he's suspended, the Bengals need to find a suitable replacement for this game (cough, cough Clinton Portis).

Ben Roethlisberger and Rashard Mendenhall will both have issues against a tough Bengals secondary and their powerful linebackers.

I'm going out on a limb here, but the Bengals upset the Steelers 16-14 in Cincinnati and improve to 6-3.

Week 11: at Baltimore Ravens

The Bengals have the top-ranked defense, the Steelers are second and guess who's third?

The Baltimore Ravens.

I'm going to make this analysis short, sweet and to the point.  Baltimore is the class of the AFC North in 2011.  The Steelers aren't producing as most anticipated, but Baltimore is.

While Cincinnati (at this point would be 6-3, based on my predictions) is 3-2, they just aren't in the same class as Baltimore, especially when they're on the road.

The Ravens' defense will shut down the entire Bengals offense in this one, and the defense will finally breakdown against Ray Rice.

Baltimore wins 34-7, and drops the Bengals to 6-4.

Week 12: vs. Cleveland Browns

The last time the Browns went head-to-head with Cincinnati, they lost 27-17.  That was Week 1 of this season.

Colt McCoy looked lost and frustrated as the Bengals' defense kept him under pressure all day.  McCoy completed only 19 of his 40 passes while throwing two touchdowns and an interception.

Peyton Hillis also proved to be less than effective in that game.  What Cleveland will have to rely on in Cincinnati is their defense. 

Joe Haden leads a decent charge in the secondary, though Dalton's performance Week 1 (a performance that was shortened due to injury) wasn't bad.  He completed 10 of his 15 passes for almost 90 yards.

Still, the Browns' rushing attack is going to need to step up.  They currently rank 24th, and Cedric Benson will almost certainly be done with the suspension talks by this point.  He ran for over 120 yards in Week 1, so I anticipate a performance of the same caliber.

In the end, this game will be completed much the way the last one was:  It will be close until the fourth quarter, but the Bengals will pull away to go to 7-4 with a 24-13 victory over the Browns.

Week 13: at Pittsburgh Steelers

This game is different from the one in Cincinnati for one reason:  Ben Roethlisberger.

He's a whole new player when he's playing in Pittsburgh.  Five of his six interceptions are on the road through five games in 2011, and that sixth one came in a game where he threw five touchdowns.

Somehow Big Ben just becomes more efficient at home.

I still foresee the tough Bengals defense holding Mendenhall down.  Between him and Isaac Redman, they won't rack up more than 80 or 90 yards.

Unfortunately, the Steel Curtain will show up for this one and clobber the young Bengals offense.  The Steelers rout the Bengals 28-6 and send them to 7-5.

Week 14: vs. Houston Texans

I have already picked the Bengals to win one of their games against Pittsburgh this year and sweep the Cleveland Browns.  Those would both make legitimate statements towards the Bengals' credibility.

A win versus the Houston Texans would cement that.

What the Bengals will face on December 11 is a Texan ballclub that is ranked in the top 10 on both sides of the football.  Matt Schaub is playing well, Arian Foster is back on the field, Andre Johnson has played well before the injury and perhaps the most detrimental point for the Bengals—Johnathan Joseph will return to Cincinnati in the opposing team's uniform.

Joseph spent his first five seasons in a Cincinnati uniform, and they were good seasons.  Now, he's in Houston and has already picked off a couple passes.  He'll be returning to Cincinnati to give Andy Dalton problems, which he probably will.

Unfortunately for Houston, there is a silver lining for Bengals fans—the Texans' defense, as a whole, is playing over their heads right now.  Despite Joseph's greatest efforts, he can't cover everyone.  Though, as I mentioned, Dalton will have some issues, he will also have some success.

Add in that the Cincinnati defense is tough.  This game will be won based on how a powerful Houston offense matches up to a strong Cincinnati defense.

Once again, I will pick the Bengals to shock everyone.  They will defeat the Texans 27-21 at home to improve to 8-5, clinching at least a .500 record.

Week 15: at St. Louis Rams

The St. Louis Rams limped into their Week 5 bye week with a rather imperfect record of 0-4.  They rank 30th overall on offense and 27th on defense.

Those numbers do not bode well for one-time NFC West favorites.

Andy Dalton will expose every defensive weakness that St. Louis has (and there are plenty of them).  You may also count on Cedric Benson and the run game having a good day, as the Rams currently rank 30th in that category of their defense.

It's hard to say this about the Bengals, but they're basically better in every way than the Rams are. 

I'll give the Rams a little credit since the game is in St. Louis, but the Bengals will win 21-19, advancing to a 9-5 record no one saw coming.

Week 16: vs. Arizona Cardinals

I understand that we are only five weeks into a long season, but Kevin Kolb is just not good.

This is a fact I've been dwelling on for months ever since he was traded to Arizona.  He's not worth the cleats that he wears every week.

He hasn't thrown a touchdown since Week 3 and has an overall passer rating of 77.2.  I hold to my prediction that he will be replaced by Week 12.

Regardless of if Kolb is still in or whoever will be the quarterback at the Week 16 mark, the Bengals are going to be dominant.

They win 41-16 and gather a shocking 10th win.

Week 17: vs. Baltimore Ravens

If my predictions about both teams are true up to this point in the season, Cincinnati will enter at 10-5 and Baltimore at 12-3.  I'm counting on Baltimore already having locked up a one or two seed in the playoffs.

This will expose an opening for the Bengals.  Joe Flacco, Ray Rice, Haloti Ngata and the rest of this tough Baltimore team may not play the entire game.

You can bet that at 10-5 in the AFC, the Bengals will be trying to clinch a Wild Card spot, but 10-6 probably won't cut it. 

For the simple fact that the Bengals would be playing backup players for most of the game, the Bengals can win this game on a couple fluke offensive bombs. 

Cincinnati finishes at 11-5 behind a stunning 14-7 win in Cincinnati, and secure a Wild Card spot.