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Let me start by saying that I’m very blessed.
I’ve been very fortunate to have attended 12 Dallas Cowboys games in my life. Four of them took place at Texas Stadium, six of them have happened at AT&T Stadium, one was at Soldier Field in Chicago, and the most recent four quarters of Cowboys action I saw live happened at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
Where I haven’t necessarily been so fortunate has been in my quest for victory. The Chicago game happened in 2014 and was a nice dubayoo on Thursday Night Football, but the only other victory happened in 2008 at Texas Stadium.
I am 2-10 all-time at Cowboys games. 1-9 at home, and 1-1 on the road. It’s been tough cookies.
When the Cowboys host the Bengals this Sunday, like Michael Jackson once beautifully sang… I’ll be there.
The good news? My lone victory in the Lone Star State happened on October 5th, 2008. It was Week 5, the Cowboys were 3-1, and the opponent they bested was the Cincinnati Bengals.
That’s right. I own this team!
Thanks to the 2002 Divisional Realignment opposite conference teams meet once every four years, which means the Bengals travel to Dallas only once every eight years. Eight in Spanish is ocho. I am RJ Ochoa, host of OchoLive, and I am obviously the boldness needed for the Cowboys to win at home against the Bengals.
The score on October 5th, 2008 was 31-22 in favor of the Cowboys. So consider this a Bold Prediction that precedes my Bold Predictions… the Cowboys will beat the Bengals on Sunday.
31-22.
How’s that for bold?
Welcome to my 5 Bold Predictions. Let’s roll.
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Jason Witten Will “Scamper” In For A Touchdown From More Than 15 Yards Out
There are few things in life that age as finely as Jason Witten. Old Man #82 is seemingly as efficient as he’s always been, although it does seem as though he’s averaging one weird penalty per game. Hey, no one’s perfect.
Another thing that’s glaringly obvious about Jason Witten is that he is… so… slow. It’s actually kind of adorable.
A point in time existed where a 15-yard score from Witten wouldn’t be that surprising, but now it is. Not only is Witten going to score his first touchdown on Sunday, but he’s going to do it while moving ever so slowly into the endzone from at least 15 yards out.
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The Cowboys Defensive Line Will Out Sack The Bengals Defensive Line
Rod Marinelli’s group of Defensive Linemen typically refers to themselves as the “rushmen.” They’ve accumulated four sacks through as many games, and that is actually not as bad as Cowboys Nation expected. The Cincinnati Bengals “rushmen” come into town with nine sacks to their name. That’s only 125% more than the Cowboys, no big deal.
There’s a lot to consider here. Dak Prescott is far more mobile than Andy Dalton, and Ezekiel Elliott is far better in pass protection than either Gio Bernard or Jeremy Hill. Additionally the Cowboys are getting their best pass-rusher, DeMarcus Lawrence, back. This is going to make things particularly spicy, hopefully for Andy Dalton.
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David Irving Will Block A Field Goal
It was another game that I attended, last season’s home contest against the Seattle Seahawks, when David Irving made his newfound presence on the Cowboys felt by blocking a Seattle Field Goal attempt.
We’ve already gone over how I’ll be at the game this Sunday, but what we need to discuss is how David Irving has already come close to batting down a Field Goal attempt this season.
Take a look at ‘ol #95 here. He is dangerously close to getting his mitt on that football. Are you paying attention, Cincinnati? This is happening!
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Dak Prescott Will Hit Brice Butler For A 40+ Yard Gain
The Bengals boast one of the finer defensive units in the NFL, but it seems to have a pretty obvious and glaring weakness… the deep ball.
Two weeks ago Denver’s Emmanuel Sanders scored on a 41-yard play. His teammate Demaryius Thomas scored from 55 yards out. Last Thursday night Miami’s Kenny Stills housed a deep bomb from Ryan Tannehill for a 74-yard score. Cincy can be had through the air in this regard.
It’s made too much sense for Dak Prescott and Brice Butler to connect deep for a while now. We saw it happen in the Dolphins preseason game, for crying out loud. Butler’s speed and athleticism are certainly on par with Sanders, Thomas, and Stills… couple that with Dak’s big arm and we’ve got the recipe for a big-time gain in the air.
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Dak Prescott And Ezekiel Elliott Will Tame The Tigers By Gaining More Yards Than Any Other QB/RB Combo This Week
I have given the Cowboys rookie wonders, Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott, a special nickname that is applicable only this week – Siegfried and Roy. Why? Two reasons.
First of all, Sig and Roy do a great job (generally) of taming tigers. Bengals are tigers. Bam! Secondly, Sig and Roy do what they do where a big show is common – Las Vegas. Dak and Zeke are a Vegas-level show as far as the NFL is concerned.
The show is going to be filled with lights and action this week, folks. Dak, thanks to his big gain to Brice we predicted, and Zeke – currently leading the league in rushing – will combine for more yards than any other quarterback and running back duo across the NFL in Week 5. Lock it up and put it in a box. Siegfried and Roy are about to do a magic trick.
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Bonus Bold Prediction #1
Remember, if you want YOUR Bold Prediction featured here, tweet it at me! It’s that simple! Here are this week’s contributions, thanks to all those who shared!
https://twitter.com/donnykf5stk/status/783337007179104257
https://twitter.com/DonnyKf5stk/status/784183044840099840
Donny is a very loyal Inside The Star reader and Bold Prediction submitter. 1,000 points to Donny! Also shout out to Donny’s Uncle who is, hard to tell here, quite the fan of Ezekiel Elliott. 180 seems surprisingly doable, especially considering Zeke had 138 last week and is only getting revved up. As for Byron Jones – love the numerical detail to this by the way – Late Night Ice Cream as I’ve dubbed him is certainly due for a big play. Let’s make it happen!
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Bonus Bold Prediction #2
@rjochoa here's my bold prediction: @TankLawrence gonna have his way with Dalton ????????
— Diana Villalon (@villalon2009) October 6, 2016
This falls right in line with our Rushmen logic! I love it when things just fall into place.
It sure is asking a lot for DeMarcus Lawrence, who is also dealing with back injury fallout on top of coming off suspension, to just show up and dominate. It should be noted that when last season’s top pass-rusher Greg Hardy saw his first snaps in Week 5, a home game against New England, he put together a two-sack day. It’s possible.
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Bonus Bold Prediction #3
https://twitter.com/ATXCowboysFan/status/784097312691789826
https://twitter.com/ATXCowboysFan/status/784099964158750720
Our Austin friend here has put together quite the Bold Prediction combo.
This is like one of those things in robbery movies where you have to dance through the maze of laser things or whatever. Is @ATXCowboysFan really Tom Cruise?
If all of these things happen we need to have a group hug and go in on some lotto tickets together. I’d say the most likely to happen here is the hundred yards for Zeke, and the least likely in this smorgasbord is a two-touchdown day for Cole Beasley. Byron is still looking for that first career interception, and Tyrone Crawford is coming off of a sack last week… I dig this!
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Bonus Bold Prediction #4
btw my bold prediction I got the Cowboys creating 3 turnovers at Andy daltons expense
— Chase Aguiar (@chaseaguiar) October 7, 2016
Turnovers are obviously all the rage when it comes to bold predictions, and I can certainly get on board with that.
Assuming the Rushmen do get some work in, maybe thanks to Crawford and Lawrence, then Andy Dalton is indeed going to be flustered. Tyler Eifert very likely won’t play, which means that Morris Claiborne will likely have help on AJ Green. We built Pick City, we built Pick City on Andy Dalton’s tears!
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Bonus Bold Prediction #5
https://twitter.com/Casarrub87mc/status/784246735061213187
Miguel read our mind! Morris Claiborne, ladies and gentlemen!
I wrote here at Inside The Star on Thursday that this game is perhaps the biggest challenge Mo has faced yet, that’s a pretty fair statement in my opinion. Claiborne is going to need help whether over the top or from those Rushmen we’ve been so high on to truly shut down AJ Green, and that’s all good. This defense plays team ball which means that the sum is greater than the parts. The sum is going to be impressive on Sunday, and two Mo picks as a cherry on top of three sacks sounds good to me!
[signoff author=”rjochoa” source=”rjoshow”]
What are YOUR Bold Predictions for this week’s Cowboys/Bengals game? Let us know! Comment below, Email me at RJ@RJOchoaShow.com, or Tweet to me at @RJOchoa!
D law is no Greg Hardy! He will not be that impact player that everyone thinks. He owed Hardy for those 8 sacks last year. Ask Tyrone Crawford about not having a Greg Hardy type player on this line.