Teams have proven this year the best way to beat the Dallas Cowboys is to just run the ball down their throat. The Cowboys have been incapable of stopping the run all season and there’s no reason to believe that will change in Week 14 against the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Dallas Cowboys are not so surprisingly the worst team in the league right now at stopping the run. They are giving up an embarrassing 5.2 yards per carry and 167.8 yards a game on the ground this season. To say their run defense has been putrid would be an understatement.
Stopping the run is clearly a problem for Dallas entering this Week 14 matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals. That would lead one to believe the Bengals and particularly RB Giovani Bernard are in store for a big day running the ball against the Cowboys Sunday afternoon, right!?
Well, as bad as the Cowboys have been at stopping the run the Bengals have been just as bad at running the ball. They are only averaging 3.8 yards per carry and 91.6 yards per game this season on the ground. Maybe that means Dallas can keep an opponent’s running game in check for once this week.
I don’t know about you, but I have my doubts the Dallas Cowboys can contain Giovani Bernard for an entire game. I’ve seen too many instances this year with players out of position to feel confident in their ability to contain anyone, let alone a player like Bernard.
Giovani Bernard has yet to have a 100-yard rushing game this season, however, there’s a first time for everything and that could very well happen this week against the Cowboys. After all, they haven’t been able to stop anyone this season so why would they start now.
Giovani Benard could very well end up being a problem for the Cowboys defense in more ways than one though. He’s the type of RB who can hurt you on the ground as a runner but also through the air as a receiver out of the backfield. That dual threat ability could make him a matchup problem.
When it comes to Cincinnati’s offensive weapons, Giovani Bernard is a player the Dallas Cowboys are going to have to account for on every single play. Jaylon Smith, Leighton Vander Esch and the rest of the defense are going to have to up their game, otherwise they can add Bernard to the list of RBs who’ve embarrassed them this year.
