5 Cincinnati Bengals Players Who Will Shine In Week 2

5 Cincinnati Bengals Players Who Will Shine In Week 2

The Cincinnati Bengals seem to be the consensus chic pick to win the AFC North. The rest of the AFC North teams lost convincingly in Week 1, while the Bengals lost by three on the road against the Chicago Bears, possibly a playoff team. The Bengals, like the Green Bay Packers, looked strong even in defeat. The real question remains if the Bengals can get a win in a big spot like Monday Night football against a Pittsburgh Steelers team that they’ve struggled mightily against for the past few years.

The Bengals could be getting the Steelers at a great time as the Steelers lost starting Pro Bowl center Maurkice Pouncey and starting inside linebacker Larry Foote. The Steelers looked like a shell of themselves in a 16-9 loss at home to the Tennessee Titans last week. If the Bengals hope to become the dominant force in the AFC North, then they need to kick the Steelers while they’re down, especially at home in a prime time game. My criticism on the Bengals for the past few years was that they only beat up on the crappy teams but get smacked down by the good and elite teams. It’s also imperative to win this game with these next three games lurking ahead: Green Bay Packers, At Cleveland Browns, and New England Patriots. I wouldn’t want to be 0-2 going into that stretch. I do like the Bengals in this game, though, and I expect them to rise to the occasion and win pretty convincingly against the beat up Steelers.

The following are the five players I expect to shine the most on the big Monday night stage.

Dan Abeshouse is a Baltimore Ravens Writer for www.Rantsports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Danabeshouse82, Like him on Facebook and add him to your network on Google

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A.J. Green

A.J. Green almost has to be on this list by default. Green had a big day last week against a Bears secondary that’s pretty good. Ike Taylor might have a very long night ahead of him in trying to keep up with Green.

Geno Atkins

Geno Atkins could have a field day now that the Steelers will be without Pouncey. See that picture above the text? Call it symbolism, foreshadowing, whatever you will. But odds are that the photographers working that game will take a few pictures similar to the one above.

Carlos Dunlap

I almost wanted to leave Carlos Dunlap off the list because I already had Atkins, but I can’t help to do it. The Steelers' offensive line is garbage, and Atkins will beat them up through the middle while Dunlap runs around them on the edges. Poor Ben; poor, poor Ben.

Vontaze Burfict

Vontaze Burfict has become a tackling machine for the Bengals. Seeing as the Steelers are playing backup running backs and tight ends, Burfict is a prime candidate to shine. There’s no reason Burfict should have any less than ten tackles in this game.

Tyler Eifert

Tyler Eifert had an okay performance in his first game against the Bears, five receptions for 47 yards. Now that Larry Foote is out of the picture for the Steelers, I expect a heavy dose of Eifert working the middle of the field. That’s what I would do anyway.