The Cincinnati Bengals and Arizona Cardinals are playing live on the NFL Preseason schedule in Week 3 starting at 8 pm ET from the University of Phoenix Stadium and the game is on NBC and streaming online from the NBC Sports Live Extra website as Andy Dalton and Carson Palmer face off ahead of the final week of the preseason and the start of the 2014 campaign.
The Bengals come into this season after making it to the playoffs in three straight years and now Andy Dalton has a big contract to live up to. The team has Dalton and AJ Green to lead their offense and they could be one of the best teams in their division this season once again. The division in the AFC North is always tough and this year the Ravens should be better and the Steelers are always tough, while the Browns have Johnny Manziel waiting in the wings.
The team comes in with a top 10 ranked passing offense with Green and Dalton and those players could be elite in fantasy and the defense was excellent as well with both the passing and rushing yards per game ranked in the top five in the league. The Colts are on the schedule for the Bengals in Week 4 and that leads into the opening week of the season which has a road game against the Baltimore Ravens. The team then has two home games against the Atlanta Falcons and Tennessee Titans before their bye week and then a very tough stretch comes out of that.
The New England Patriots are in Week 5 on the schedule and they will be on Sunday night football and that starts a stretch of two of three games on the road. The team plays against the Carolina Panthers at home and then against the Indianapolis Colts on the road. The next three games are at home, with two coming in the division against the Ravens and the Browns, while the other is against the Jaguars. The next three games are away matchups and have the Saints, Houston Texans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers and that could decide the season, while the Steelers, Browns, Broncos and Steelers finish out the schedule.
The Cardinals had one of the top defensive units in the league last year and they were first in rushing yards allowed per game and they are 1-1 this preseason after losing to the Vikings. The team opened with a win against the Houston Texans and they finish the preseason with the San Diego Chargers and that will be on the road and the team opens with the Chargers at home on Monday Night Football. The team has a road game against the NY Giants in Week 2, while the San Francisco 49ers are next and that leads into the bye week.
The Cardinals have a tough schedule this season and part of that comes from playing in the best division in the NFL in the NFC West. The team plays the Niners, Seahawks and Rams twice and they also have road games against the Atlanta Falcons and Dallas Cowboys. The team ends the season with a Brutal run, including road games against the Seahawks, Falcons, Rams and Niners, while they also have the Kansas City Chiefs and Seahawks at home in that stretch.