The Dallas Cowboys have a tough task ahead of them as they'll take on the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football as they try to secure their third consecutive win.
The Week 14 showdown will heavily be influenced by injuries to both teams, however. On the opponent side of things, none looms larger than the absence of left tackle Orlando Brown Jr.
The Bengals have struggled to keep Joe Burrow clean in the pocket this season, something he's been able to overcome thanks to his elite pocket presence and maneuvering.
Part of that has been the lack of top-tier talent on the interior but also because of left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. playing banged up. Now, that's going to be an even bigger problem for Cincy, as Brown Jr. has been ruled out for Monday's game against the Cowboys.
That sets up Micah Parsons for a huge game. The Cowboys superstar has been on fire since returning from injury himself with 5.5 sacks in four games, along with 23 pressures, per Pro Football Focus, which also credits him for seven sacks in that span (they track them differently than the traditional method).
Parsons was already in for a big game, as A to Z Sports writer and Bengals expert John Sheeran described in a recent article: "Parsons has the advantage no matter where he lines up."
Right now Parsons has the advantage no matter where he lines up. Orlando Brown Jr. has been great when healthy, but he’s not right now. He tried playing through his fibula injury last week and Steelers edge Nick Herbig abused him late in the game. Amarius Mims has proven to be capable at right tackle, but Parsons of all people should be able to exploit his inexperience. Not one of their interior linemen can stop Parsons on a stunt. That would be how I’d deploy him Monday night.
Remove Brown Jr. from the equation and that spells trouble for the Bengals. Mike Zimmer will find ways to use Parsons across the entire defense and when in doubt, he'll pick his poison: Line him up against backup left tackle Cody Ford or against rookie Amarius Mims on the other side.
If the Cowboys are to pull of the upset on Monday, they'll need an heroic performance out of No. 11 to keep Burrow's offense from being as efficient as it's been.
In other injury news, the Bengals will also be down defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins, which could open up important avenues for the Cowboys offense, which has leaned on the running game more in the last couple of outings. Cincy also lost starting LB Logan Wilson for the year.
As for the Cowboys recently lost Zack Martin for the rest of the season while Trevon Diggs and Tyler Guyton are questionable for Monday. CeeDee Lamb is expected to play with a shoulder injury and he'll be joined by TE Jake Ferguson, who is making his return after missing back to back games with a concussion.
