Four things to watch for on ‘Monday Night Football’ in Week 14

• WHERE: AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas)
• WHEN: 8:15 PM ET | ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, Disney+, NFL+

The season may be starting to get serious, but Monday night’s matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals (4-8) and Dallas Cowboys (5-7) will come with a little extra fun.

The two teams will feature in the second annual Funday Football broadcast, with this year’s game taking fans to Springfield for “The Simpsons Funday Football.” where Bart Simpson will team up with the Bengals, while Homer Simpson sides with the Cowboys. The alternative view presentation which will transform Monday night football in real time into the iconic animated world of The Simpsons using Sony’s Beyond Sports Technology, will stream on Disney+ and ESPN+ and on mobile with NFL+.

Although only one game separates the two teams’ records, Cincinnati and Dallas enter Monday’s game on two different courts. The Cowboys, who lost starting quarterback Dak Prescott to a hamstring injury earlier this season, are nonetheless riding a two-game winning streak behind the Cooper Rush. The Bengals, by contrast, have lost four of their last five, including last week’s divisional loss to the Steelers in a game on fire.

With the playoff races in each conference heating up and spots starting to be secured, a win here keeps one of these teams’ faint wild-card hopes alive, while a loss takes them out of contention.

Here are four things to watch for when the Bengals visit the Cowboys Monday night on ESPN and NFL+:

1) Cincy D needs a win. It’s no surprise that the Bengals’ defense warrants discussion at this point in the season. Joe Burrow’s offensive accomplishments are among some of the best seasons in history, yet the team is on the brink of elimination because it can’t stop opponents from scoring. Cincinnati has given up 34 or more points in four of its last five games, including last week’s 44-38 loss to the Steelers, who had previously averaged 22.9 points per game. match. The Bengals rank 31st in points allowed, 30th in red zone defense and 21st in takeaways, tough stats to overcome for any team. It doesn’t help that Cincy continues to lose starters to injury, most recently DJ Turner II (collarbone) and Logan Wilson (knee), both placed on injured reserve the past few weeks. The question now will be whether this group can find a way to stop the bleeding and pull away on Monday. The Cowboys present a relatively favorable matchup as they start backup QB Cooper Rush and are averaging just 20.7 points per game. match. The question is whether the Bengals can take advantage or, as with the Steelers last week, it will be another high-scoring day for their opponent.

2) Dallas D tries to build on last week against no. 1 offensive. The Cowboys have dealt with their own defensive woes this season, actually ranking just above the Bengals in points allowed by giving up 28.3 points per game. match, tied for 29th in the league. However, Dallas’ recent performance could be a signal of better things on the horizon. The Cowboys held the Giants to 247 yards and 20 points on Thanksgiving, the first time they’ve held an opponent to fewer than 21 points since Week 5. They had six sacks — led by Micah Parsons’ 1.5 takedowns — and two takeaways, including Demarvion Overshown’s 23-yard pick-six. It was the Drew Lock captained Giants, of course, and this week they will look to repeat that success against Joe Burrow, which is a whole different ball game. But the Cowboys will hope the possible return of some key players can help in that endeavor. Cornerback Trevon Diggs (questionable; knee) has not played the past two weeks, but he has participated in a limited capacity in each of this week’s practices, leaving the door open for him to return this week. If he does, it will be the first time Diggs and cornerback DaRon Bland take the field together this season, since the latter returned two weeks ago from a foot injury that had sidelined him since August.

3) Storylines galore for star wideouts. With the passing attack standing as the strength of every team’s offense — the Bengals rank No. 1 and Cowboys no. 7 in passing yards — expect all eyes to be on the teams’ star receivers this week. The Bengals have several weapons for Joe Burrow to target, but his best friend remains Ja’Marr Chase, who has more than double his closest teammate in both receiving yards (1,142) and touchdowns (13), both of which also lead the league . With five games remaining, Chase has a real chance to earn the triple crown by leading in the top three receiving categories. With an offseason ahead that is expected to feature new contract negotiations, this would be a feather in the cap for the 24-year-old receiver. The only one of the three categories Chase does not currently have the lead in is receptions. He is tied for second behind Brock Bowers (84) heading into Week 14 and tied with the man facing him from the opposite sideline on Monday, CeeDee Lamb (both with 79). Lamb has similarly been the focal point of the Dallas offense this season, recording 880 yards and four touchdowns while on pace for his fourth straight year with 1,000-plus yards. He does, however, enter Monday’s contest nursing the AC joint injury he’s been dealing with for weeks and aggravated in last week’s win. While the wideout has said he will be on the field Monday and is indeed off the team’s injury report, it will be important to see if his shoulder will hamper his play at all.

4) Ground game a match on both sides. While stars at the top of their games are the story of each team’s passing offense, the running game has been a letdown by comparison. The Bengals and Cowboys rank 27th and 31st, respectively, in rushing yards per game, making this a possible area of ​​separation between two otherwise potent offenses. Since Joe Mixon, Cincinnati’s leading rusher last year, left for the Texans this offseason, the Bengals have struggled to find a replacement who can earn consistent yardage on the ground. Chase Brown has carried the load, but the second-year running back has suffered so far, averaging 56.4 rushing yards per game and registering just one game of 100-plus yards. Khalil Herbert was added at the trade deadline to bolster the unit, but so far through three games he has 14 yards rushing. Meanwhile, the Cowboys’ initial committee approach has fallen flat, giving way to Rico Dowdle taking over the lead role. Although he has averaged 54.5 yards per carry. game, Dowdle is coming off his best outing of the season against the Giants on Thanksgiving. He had 112 rushing yards and a touchdown — his first time eclipsing 90 yards this season — to lead the team to its second-highest rushing total of the season. Both Dowdle and Brown averaged 4.5 yards per carry. carry, nearly the league average (4.4), but a better-than-average performance on Monday could help their team to a much-needed win.