Rookie linebacker Keith Rivers will miss the rest of the 2008 season due to a broken jaw.  This will hurt the defense big time as Rivers started the Bengals’ first seven games of the season and he made 37 tackles, defensed a pass and had a interception.  Look for the Bengals to try to get WR Hines Ward of the Steelers back the next time these two teams meet as the hit appeared to be a borderline cheap shot which is Ward and the Steelers’ gameplan.

It appears that Carson Palmer will not be playing today due to a bum elbow and that’s awful news for the Bengals and great news for the Jets.  Ryan Fitzgerald proved earlier in this season against the Browns that he’s not ready for primetime let alone a matchup against Brett Favre.  The Jets have 13 sacks this season already and they no doubt will be bringing the house against Fitzgerald which will force him to make bad throws as he threw 3 picks in his only start this season.  Of course, it would help if the Bengals had some sort of a running game but there’s little chance of Chris Perry and Cedric Benson finding running room against a Jets’ defense that is allowing 75.5 yards rushing per game and 3.1 yards per carry.

The Jets will have the luxury of doing whatever they want on offense against the porous Bengals’ defense.  They will probably try to run a more balanced attack than usual as the Bengals are allowing 171.0 yards rushing per game and 4.5 yards per carry.  Brett Favre has to be excited about going against the Bengals who only have 3 sacks this season which should mean he has plenty of time to find open receivers.  Look for Laveranues Coles, Jerricho Cotchery and Chansi Stuckey to all have big games this week against the Bungles.

PREDICTION:  NEW YORK JETS 30, CINCINNATI BENGALS 3

The Bengals showed a lot of heart last week as they gave the Cowboys a scare in Dallas.  Carson Palmer started despite playing with a bum elbow and he completed 23 of 39 passes for 217 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 interception.  T.J. Houshmandzadeh also had a great game catching 7 passes for 85 yards (12.1 avg) with both TD grabs from Palmer.  But the running game of the Bengals was non existant once again and it hurt them in this game.  They rushed for only 61 yards on 23 carries (2.7 ypc) with Cedric Benson (30 yards) and Chris Perry (31 yards) splitting the workload.  The Bengals’ defense however did not play well as the Cowboys rolled up 198 yards rushing on 38 carries (5.2 ypc) and it killed them in the end.  The Bengals are now 0-5 on the season as it spins out of control.

Carson Palmer has been throwing the ball well in practice and the Bengals have their fingers crossed that he will be ready to start against the Cowboys on Sunday.  If they have to start Ryan Fitzpatrick again this game could turn into a bloodbath.  The Bengals should just come out throwing the ball in this game as T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Chad Johnson and Chris Henry could give the Cowboys’ D big trouble if Palmer has time to throw the ball.  That’s a big if as the Bengals have allowed 12 sacks this season and the Cowboys’ D also has 12 sacks this year.  The Cowboys don’t have a great run defense but Chris Perry (208 yards, 2.9 ypc, 2 TDs) has not looked good this year.

The Cowboys would like to have a balanced offense against the Bengals and that will be possible as the Bengals are allowing 164.3 yards rushing per game and 4.3 ypc this season.  Marion Barber should have a huge game against the Bengals tomorrow.  The Bengals’ defense only has 2 sacks this season so Tony Romo should have all day to pick apart the pass D.  Jason Witten, Patrick Crayton, T.O. and Miles Austin should all have big games here.

PREDICTION:  WITH CARSON PALMER:  DALLAS COWBOYS 31, CINCINNATI BENGALS 21

                             WITHOUT CARSON PALMER:  DALLAS COWBOYS 49, CINCINNATI BENGALS 3

Cedric Benson should fit right in on the Bengals due to all of his recent arrests.  The 25-year old was cut by the Bears before the season started due to his off field conduct.  Benson played in 11 games (all starts) for the Bears last season and he carried the ball 196 times for 674 yards (3.4 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  He also caught 17 passes for 123 yards (7.2 avg) last year.  Benson has never lived up to his ability in the NFL but the Bengals might give him a chance to battle Chris Perry for carries in the near future unless he starts playing better.  Benson has now played in 35 games (12 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 420 times for 1,593 yards (3.8 ypc) with 10 TD runs.  He has also caught 26 passes for 180 yards (6.9 avg).  It will be interesting to see what Benson does with a second chance and a clean slate.