WAYNE ROOT
MILL--Dallas +
No Limit--Washington +
Perfect Play--Seattle -
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Inner Circle--Cincinnati +
With a 2-3 record, the Bengals need to shock themselves and put together a great game on the road against New England. Both teams should be tested. Hopefully, New England has made themselves their own worst enemy as they have made the "return" of Tom Brady the biggest home game in years. Try getting a ticket! So the pressure is on them. Winning at Gillette Stadium would be a monumental task and after the loss at Dallas, the Bengals need to respond. Falling to 2-4 would put Cincinnati in dire straits, especially in terms of contending in the AFC North and reaching the postseason for a sixth consecutive season. Do we hear "must win"? Bengals WR Brandon LaFell may be the answer. This former Patriots standout appears to be comfortable in his new Bengals offense. Through five games, LaFell has 21 catches for 276 yards and two touchdowns, on pace to have the finest season since 2011 by any Bengals receiver not named A.J. Green. Dalton has the weapons and now has to perform. Cincinnati had two streaks broken last week playing Dallas. First, Cincinnati won 10 straight games when Dalton had a rating of 100 or better, but that streak ended when the Bengals lost at Dallas (38-14) despite Dalton's 104.6 passer rating. Secondly, the Bengals went 17 consecutive games without allowing a 100-yard rusher before the Cowboys' Ezekiel Elliott rushed for 134 yards. These streaks have to be relaunched today and very well could be. It's all about the red zone and the end zone for Dalton. So the Bengals will need Dalton to step up. The sixth-year passer has thrown for more than 300 yards per game this fall but struggled to lead his team to the end zone. He's 10th in yards but 24th in scoring. That's where their work, practice and focus was on this week with some different plays and schemes. Defensively, the Bengals can maintain some control in Brady's use of his tight ends. That's huge as Brady goes to them about 15 times a game. Cincinnati might not win outright in their must win game, but they will be within the point spread the entire game.
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Pinnacle--Miami +
The tale of the tape shows a 4-1 Steelers team and a 1-4 Dolphins team. The Dolphins would love to get into a low scoring affair. The Steelers may not share that same feeling on offense. The offensive line needs to protect quarterback Ben Roethlisberger better as indicated by the nine sacks they have allowed so may continue to throw while hoping for the O-line to protect Ben. The Steelers are notorious for playing down to the competition. The big question today is this: is this a trap game with New England up next or a tune-up game for Pittsburgh's next game. The Steelers may help the cause by running the ball with vanilla type play calling. For Dolphins fans, the one chance Miami has is to connect on a few deep touchdown passes to Kenny Stills and/or DeVante Parker. QB Ryan Tannehill blasted his offensive line publicly and may have gotten their attention. There have been many injuries but most teams including the Steelers have suffered with them. The Steelers have won back to back games and scored 74 points the past two weeks and with the Patriots up next week, should have a more conservative game plan. It's very difficult to maintain peak performance week after week. Look for a huge game from Tannehill with another QB in Adam Gase looking over his shoulder. He does have the talent and weapons to make it happen. Tannehill has thrown for 4,000-plus yards in back-to-back seasons. In terms of those weapons, he has Kenny Stills, DeVante Parker, and Jarvis Landry to throw to if the offensive line can keep him upright. The fish will fight hard and cover the points offered by the road team.