With Terrell Owens and Chad Ocho Cinco out of the picture this year, the Bengals need one of their young WRs to step up.  25-year old Jerome Simpson has been that guy for the Bengals.  In Simpson’s first two years with the Bengals, he played in 11 games in which he caught 21 passes for 299 yards (14.2 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Simpson has played in 11 games this year already for he Bengals and he has caught 36 passes for 577 yards (16.0 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  The Bengals need Simpson to finish strong to help them make the playoffs.

Andy Dalton proved that he has ice water in his veins today as the took the Bengals right down the field at the end of the game to set up Mike Nugent for a 26-yard field goal with only 38 seconds left in the game!  Dalton completed 21 of 31 passes for 270 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 6 times for 23 yards in this game.  Cedric Benson had a solid game too with 21 carries for 106 yards (5.0 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 4 passes for 24 yards today.  WR A.J. Green (3 rec, 110 yards) and TE Jermaine Gresham (5 rec, 68 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Bengals in this game.  The Bengals finished up with 132 yards rushing on 32 carries (4.1 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 31 passes (67.7%) for 257 yards as they had possession of the ball for 31:34.

The defense had issues in the first half but they fixed them.  LBs Rey Maualuga (10 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) and Thomas Howard (9 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 2 QB hits) led the way for the Bengals on D today.  DE Robert Geathers (6 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack and 1 QB hit) and safety Reggie Nelson (4 tackles, 2 passes defensed, 1 QB hit and 1 interception) also made big plays for the Bengals today.  The Browns finished up with 134 yards rushing on 30 carries (4.5 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 34 passes (47.1%) for 140 yards in this game.  The Bengals are now 7-4 on the season.

The Bengals are looking to get back off the mat after losing their last two games to the Ravens and Steelers.  The Browns broke a 3-game losing streak in beating the Jaguars 14-10 last weekend.  The Bengals beat the Browns 27-17 in the season opener in Cleveland but they got lucky on some scoring plays in that game.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bengals have the ball:  The Bengals didn’t throw well against the Browns, who have the #1 rated pass defense in the NFL as they are only giving up 166.5 yards passing per game so far this year.  With that in mind, look for the Bengals to be run heavy this weekend.  Cedric Benson is likely to have a very heavy workload against the Browns, who are giving up 139.3 yards passing per game and 4.3 yards per carry.  WR A.J. Green will be back this weekend for the Bengals, but he was shut down pretty good by CB Joe Haden in the season opener.  Andy Dalton will also try to get the ball to Jerome Simpson, Andre Caldwell and Jermaine Gresham in this game.

When the Browns have the ball:  The Browns have been very predictable offensively this year as they very rarely throw the ball on first down.  So the Bengals’ front seven will have to be ready to deal with Montario Hardesty and Chris Ogbonnaya a lot on early downs.  They should be up to that challenge.  If the Browns were smart (and I doubt it), they would throw the ball deep a lot in this game.  For some reason, they don’t seem to trust Colt McCoy enough to let him do that.  Greg Little, Josh Cribbs and Mohamed Massaquoi all have the speed to get deep if McCoy has time to throw the ball.

PREDICTION:  BENGALS 23, BROWNS 13

24-year old rookie QB Andy Dalton is still playing solid football for the Bengals.  He has only had one game that was a real stinker this year and that was against the 49ers, a game in which the Bengals lost 13-8.  Dalton has played in 10 games for the Bengals so far this year and he has completed 197 of 332 passes (59.3%) for 2,239 yards with 15 TD passes and 12 INTs (79.6 QB Rating).  Dalton has also carried the ball 17 times for 58 yards (3.4 ypc) with 1 TD run so far this year.  The Bengals need Andy Dalton to continue playing well if they are going to get into the playoffs this year.  They are only 1 game behind the Steelers and Ravens in the AFC North.

The Bengals moved the ball up and down the field against the Ravens’ D, but they shot themselves in the foot too many times to actually win the game.  Andy Dalton completed 24 of 45 passes for 373 yards with 1 TD pass and 3 INTs.  He also carried the ball 4 times for 32 yards (8.0 ypc) yesterday.  Cedric Benson led the way on the ground for the Bengals yesterday with 15 carries for 41 yards with 2 TD runs.  Bernard Scott pitched in with 40 yards rushing on 9 carries (4.4 ypc).  Brian Leonard was also busy with 2 carries for 6 yards (3.0 ypc) and 5 grabs for 57 yards (11.4 avg) in this game.  WRs Jerome Simpson (8 rec, 152 yards, 19.0 avg) and Andre Caldwell (3 rec, 63 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Bengals.  TE Jermaine Gresham (3 rec, 48 yards) and WR Andrew Hawkins (4 rec, 47 yards) also pitched in for the Bengals yesterday.  The Bengals finished up with 119 yards rushing on 30 carries (4.0 ypc) and they also completed 24 of 46 passes (52.2%) for 364 yards as they had possession of the ball for 32:53.

The defense didn’t play too good for the Bengals yesterday.  CB Adam Jones (7 tackles), OLB Manny Lawson (6 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss) and DT Geno Atkins (6 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 sack and 1 QB hit) led the way for the Bengals on D in this game.  CB Nate Clements pitched in with a interception in this game.  The Ravens finished up with 105 yards rushing on 28 carries (3.8 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 27 passes (63%) for 268 yards.  The Bengals are now 6-4 on the year.

The Bengals lost a tough one last weekend, 24-17 at home against the Steelers.  But, the Bengals are 4-1 on the road, so they will have a puncher’s chance this Sunday in Baltimore.  The Ravens are coming off a loss to the Seahawks on the road last Sunday, but they are 4-0 at home, where they have outscored their opponents 128-65.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bengals have the ball:  LB Ray Lewis is likely going to miss this game due to injury, which will allow the Bengals to try to establish a running game with Cedric Benson and Bernard Scott.  It still probably won’t be to easy to run the ball as the Ravens are only giving up 90.3 yards rushing per game and 3.3 yards per carry.  The Ravens have 27 sacks already this year and they have 8 interceptions, so Andy Dalton is going to have to get rid of the ball quickly, while still being careful with the ball and that isn’t always easy to do.  The Bengals might be without A.J. Green this weekend, so Jerome Simpson, Andre Caldwell and Jermaine Gresham are going to have to step up.

When the Ravens have the ball:  The Ravens are going to come out focusing on getting the ball in Ray Rice’s hands both running the ball and catching it out of the backfield.  The Bengals have a great run defense as they are allowing only 86.8 yards rushing per game and 3.4 yards per carry so far this year.  Without Leon Hall (done for the year due to injury), the Bengals are going to need Kelly Jennings or Adam Jones to step up at corner opposite of Nate Clements.  WRs Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith are going to be hard to handle for the Bengals’ secondary.  Joe Flacco has also started to throw to his TEs (Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta) a lot more as of late.  The Bengals have 25 sacks and they are going to get after Flacco in an effort to force him into making the big mistake.

PREDICTION:  RAVENS 23, BENGALS 20

28-year old safety Reggie Nelson is having by far the best year of his NFL career in 2011.  Nelson has played in 9 games for the Bengals so far this year and he has 55 tackles, 1 sack, 2 forced fumbles, 1 interception (he returned it 75 yards for a TD), 6 passes defensed and 1 tackle for a loss.  He has now played in 25 games in his first two years with the Bengals and he has 109 tackles, 13 passes defensed, 3 interceptions (one returned for a TD), 1 sack, 4 forced fumbles and 1 tackle for a loss.  Nelson is playing like the player the Jaguars thought they were getting when they drafted him in the first round a few years ago.  The Bengals need him to keep up the good work, especially since they have lost CB Leon Hall for the year.

The Bengals will be without 26-year old CB Leon Hall for the rest of the year.  They have placed him on I.R. due to a ruptured left Achilles tendon.  Hall played in 9 games for the Bengals last year and he had 32 tackles, 7 passes defensed, 2 interceptions and 1 fumble recovery.  He has now played in 73 games in his first five years with the Bengals and he has 290 tackles, 78 passes defensed, 20 interceptions (1 returned for a TD), 5 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries and 6 tackles for a loss.  This is a HUGE loss for the Bengals as Hall is one of the best corners in the NFL.

The Bengals left it all on the field yesterday, but it just wasn’t good enough to beat the Steelers.  Andy Dalton was so-so in this game as he completed 15 of 30 passes for 170 yards with 2 TD passes and 2 INTs.  Cedric Benson led the way on the ground for the Bengals in this game with 57 yards rushing on 15 carries (3.8 ypc).  Bernard Scott pitched in with 38 yards rushing on 7 carries (5.4 ypc) in this game.  WR Andrew Hawkins (5 rec, 56 yards), WR A.J. Green (1 rec, 36 yards, TD) and TE Jermaine Gresham (4 rec, 23 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game yesterday.  The Bengals finished up with 109 yards rushing on 26 carries (4.2 ypc) and they also completed 15 of 30 passes (50%) for 170 yards as they had possession of the ball for 26:07.

The defense played well for the most part yesterday as they had 5 sacks.  OLB Manny Lawson led the way for the Bengals on D yesterday with 10 tackles, 1/2 sack, 1 tackle for a loss and 2 QB hits.  Safety Chris Crocker (7 tackles, 2 QB hits), LB Rey Maualuga (7 tackles) and CB Leon Hall (2 tackles, 3 passes defensed and 1 interception) also helped out on D for the Bengals in this game.  The Steelers finished up with 105 yards rushing on 30 carries (3.5 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 33 passes (63.6%) for 223 yards.  The Bengals are now 6-3 on the season.

The Bengals have won five games in a row.  But, the only team with a winning record that they have beaten so far this year is the Buffalo Bills.  The Steelers are only 1-3 against teams with winning records so far this year and the Patriots are the only team they have beat with a winning record.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bengals have the ball:  The Bengals are going to try to run the ball on the Steelers with Cedric Benson.  This would allow them to control the clock and slow the Steelers’ pass rush a little bit.  The Steelers only have 2 interceptions so far this year, so Andy Dalton should be able to make throws down the field as long as the offensive line gives him time to do so.  The Bengals’ O-Line has only allowed 13 sacks so far this year, while the Steelers have 23 sacks….so something has to give.  WRs A.J. Green and Jerome Simpson are going to be serious threats down the field to the Steelers’ slightly overrated secondary.

When the Steelers have the ball:  The Bengals should be able to stop Rashard Mendenhall, as they are only giving up 84.5 yards rushing per game and 3.3 yards per carry.  But, dealing with Ben Roethlisberger and his receivers is going to be quite a bit harder.  The Bengals have 20 sacks this year and Roethlisberger has been sacked 26 times this year, so they should be able to get to him.  The Bengals must crack him hard early in the game and get him on the ground, so that he can’t buy time get the ball down the field.  The Bengals’ corners are going to have to step up to deal with speedy WRs Mike Wallace and Antonio Brown of the Steelers this Sunday.

PREDICTION:  STEELERS 27, BENGALS 17