Arizona Cardinals to face Cincinnati Bengals as both teams seek second win of season

Cincinnati Bengals (1-3) at Arizona Cardinals (1-3)

Time/site: 1:05 p.m. MST, State Farm Stadium, Glendale.

TV: FOX. Radio: 98.7 FM, 106.7 FM in Spanish.

Last time they played: The Cardinals defeated the Bengals 34-31 in Week 11 of the 2015 season, on a Sunday night at State Farm Stadium. Carson Palmer, now in the team's Ring of Honor, threw for 317 yards and four touchdowns in the win against his former team.

Series history: The two teams have only played 12 times dating back to 1973, so Sunday marks the 13th meeting all-time. Each team has won six games but the Cardinals have won four of the last five. The last Bengals win in the series was on Dec. 24, 2011, in Ohio, a 23-16 win.

Coaching matchup

Arizona: First-year head coach Jonathan Gannon is off to a 1-3 start but has the Cardinals competitive. He is an Ohio native.

Cincinnati: Zac Taylor is in his fifth season guiding the Bengals. In 2022, Taylor led Cincinnati to a second consecutive AFC North Division title and a repeat appearance in the AFC championship game. Two seasons ago, Taylor's Bengals made it to Super Bowl LVI.

Storyline

Sunday marks the first game for head coach Jonathan Gannon and his staff against an AFC opponent. The Cardinals continue with Josh Dobbs at quarterback, a move that has worked despite the team having just one win.

Arizona hopes to take advantage of an underachieving Bengals team playing what quarterback Joe Burrow feels is a "must-win" game for his team. Burrow has been hobbled by a nagging calf injury but has played through it.

Cincinnati will win if . . .

1. Burrow plays like the Burrow of 2021 and 2022: Clearly the calf is an issue, as Burrow has just 728 passing yards, two touchdowns and a 69.1 quarterback rating through four games. He'd been one of the elite signal callers in the NFL the previous two seasons, but the Bengals are 31st in the NFL in points per game at 12.3 with only four total touchdowns.

2. The Bengals defense forces Cardinals mistakes: The problem here is that Cardinals quarterback Josh Dobbs hasn't turned the ball over in three straight games. The Bengals' defense is 18th in the league in points allowed at 23.5, but teams have had success running the ball against Cincinnati.

3. The Cardinals struggle in pass coverage: The Bengals had to have seen the game tape from last week and watched the 49ers' Brandon Aiyuk wreck the Arizona secondary. They will look for Pro Bowler Ja'Marr Chase to do something similar against the Cardinals' cornerbacks.

Arizona will win if . . .

1. Dobbs mixes passing success with the threat of being a runner: Dobbs has seen a lot of the Bengals over his career, but mainly from the sideline as a backup. He's done nothing to show he isn't capable of another solid game as a starter, though.

2. The defense takes advantage of a less-than-100-percent Burrow: Getting home with the pass rush could make a major difference in the game and demoralize an already underachieving Bengals team.

3. They 'bend but don't break' on defense: The Cardinals are near the bottom of the NFL in total yards allowed, but if they can limit drives to field goals or nothing at all, they will be in a better position to win.

Read more: Quarterback Josh Dobbs making big impression on and off field for Cardinals

They said it

"You look at all of it and just know who we're going against, what he can do and what he has done in the past and what he's done this year too, as well, but you have to understand how he makes his plays and try to defend as best as you can.'' - Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon, on Burrow.

"He's done a great job. Just being creative, man, he does a great job of putting our playmakers in positions to make plays. And that's all you can ask for as a player. And as a quarterback, you know, from your OC, throw different looks at the defense, make it efficient, make it an easy game and figure out ways to get the ball in the playmakers' hands. And so we've done that, we'll continue to do that." - Dobbs, on Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing.

"Whenever you’re 1-3, you’re going to be frustrated. You’re going to be angry, you’re going to be wanting to win games, and we haven’t been. We’re not going to let anything like that come between us, that’s howyou end up having a bad season. We’ve had a bad start, had a bad first quarter. We’ve got three more quarters of the year to get through and go from there." - Burrow, on the Bengals' season thus far.

"Joe is at Ohio State all the time. ... He did graduate at Ohio State before he left, in three years. So I think it's fair for Ohio State to claim him, because he claims Ohio State." - Cardinals offensive lineman and former Buckeye Paris Johnson Jr., on Burrow, who transferred to LSU in 2018 before becoming a pro.

Related: Cardinals' Paris Johnson Jr. looks forward to facing hometown team, Cincinnati Bengals

By the numbers

4-0 —Cardinals' all-time record in home games against the Bengals. On Sunday, Cincinnati will make just its second regular season visit to Arizona in the last 20 years.

5 — Touchdown receptions for Cardinals wide receiver Marquise "Hollywood" Brown in five career games against the Bengals. Brown spent his first three NFL seasons (2019-21) with the Baltimore Ravens in the same division as the Bengals.

702 — Career receptions for Cardinals tight end Zach Ertz, who surpassed 700 career catches last week while playing in his 148th career game. Only two tight ends in NFL history — Travis Kelce (126) and Jason Witten (145) reached 700 catches in fewer games. 574 — Rushing yards for the Cardinals in 2023. Arizona ranks sixth in the NFL in rushing this season.

5.27 — Rushing average for Arizona in 2023 (574 yards on 109 carries). Only the Miami Dolphins (6.31) have a better rushing average than the Cardinals this season.

8 — Runs of 20 or more yards for the Cardinals in 2023. That is the most in the NFL this season and just one shy of their total from all of 2022.

12 — Career sacks for LB Dennis Gardeck. With his sack of 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy last week, Gardeck tied the franchise record for sacks by a player who entered the NFL undrafted.

$1.3 billion — Dollars of economic impact brought to Arizona through hosting Super Bowl 57 at State Farm Stadium in February. The record-breaking figure was announced at a news conference on Wednesday, as theregion hosted over 100,000 visitors from out of state during Super Bowl weekend.

Who will win and why

Cardinals 27, Bengals 17: The Bengals don't look anywhere close to the team that became one of the best in the AFC over the past couple of years. If the Cardinals can start fast on offense, the Bengals might not be able to recover and rally. The Cardinals are playing with little expectations and playing loose and with confidence and togetherness that keeps them believing that they have a chance against anyone.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Cardinals-Cincinnati Bengals NFL game preview, prediction