NFL Week 5 Picks: Bengals Vs. Cowboys Odds, Analysis, Predictions

Editor’s note: NESN.com’s Mike Cole, Ricky Doyle and Andre Khatchaturian deliver their NFL picks every Thursday of the season, and here’s who they like in the Cincinnati Bengals-Dallas Cowboys Week 5 game, with the line from OddsShark.

Cincinnati Bengals (2-2) at (PK) Dallas Cowboys (3-1), 4:25 p.m.
Mike: Bengals. The Cowboys do a good job in the running game, but they have gone up against some bad run defenses (Chicago, Washington, San Francisco). It won’t be as easy against Cincinnati. The Bengals’ red zone offense could break out after a rough slate to start the season.
Ricky: Bengals. For whatever reason, Andy Dalton is really good against NFC opponents, posting a 14-4-1 record and 38 touchdowns to 17 interceptions. Does that matter here? I don’t know. But it’s enough for me to roll with the Bengals, especially since they’re better than any of the cupcakes the Cowboys have defeated so far.
Andre: Cowboys. Aside from Philadelphia, who?s had a bye week, Dallas has the best time-of-possession in the NFL. A third of its drives are at least five minutes long. To put that into perspective, the Eagles are second in the league at 21 percent. The Cowboys also have 14 drives of 10 plays or more — five more than any other team. Dallas? defense isn?t amazing, but it?s hard for other teams to score when they don?t have the ball.