The NFL has never brought two winning teams to London for a cross-Atlantic showdown. Cincinnati's early-season struggles will keep that streak alive in Week 8.
The Bengals' five-year streak of postseason appearances is in jeopardy after a 3-4 start to their 2016 season. A win this weekend would put them within half a game of the AFC North's top spot, but it won't be easy. They'll face a streaky Washington team bright and early on Sunday morning for an NFL London showdown between two teams with playoff aspirations.
How to watch Washington vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Time: 9:30 a.m. ET
Location: Wembley Stadium, London
TV: FOX
Announcers: Kenny Albert, John Lynch, Pam Oliver
Online: Sunday Ticket, Verizon NFL Mobile, Fox Sports GO
Cincinnati stands one game from .500, but has yet to beat a team with a winning record this fall. The Bengals' victories have come over 2-5 New York, 3-4 Miami, and most recently against 0-7 Cleveland. No team in the NFL with three wins or more has beaten a less competitive lineup. Andy Dalton is having one of the best years of his career for a postseason standby, and somehow this team has been worse than its 3-4 record suggests.
That's because Cincinnati has struggled mightily to turn yardage into points this fall. Only 42 percent of the team's drives into the red zone have ended with touchdowns. Only three teams in the league have been worse.
Washington can relate. Kirk Cousins' red zone struggles were an ignominious highlight to the jagged start of his 2016 season. His team has been just as bad as the Bengals when it comes to finding the end zone inside the opponent's 20-yard line.
Washington overcame a rough start to rally to 4-2, but ran into the buzzsaw known as the rejuvenated Matt Stafford in a Week 7 loss to Detroit. Cousins ran for a touchdown to give his team a 17-13 lead with 1:05 to play, but Stafford -- developing into a legitimate MVP candidate despite the absence of Calvin Johnson -- led his Lions back for a game-winning touchdown to halt Washington's winning streak at four games.
A relentless pass rush and stingy defense has helped the team overcome its offensive woes. Washington has allowed just 16.7 points per game in its last three matchups while sacking opposing quarterbacks on more than 10 percent of their dropbacks. That pressure served to rattle a young passer like Philadelphia's Carson Wentz, but wasn't as successful against a veteran like Stafford. The Lions quarterback threw for more than 9 yards per pass and came alive when his team needed him the most to drop Washington to 4-3 on the season.
That's a plan a similarly rising young veteran like Dalton can emulate -- if his offensive line can keep his jersey clean. The sixth-year pro has thrown for a stellar 10.9 yards per attempt in Bengals wins this fall, but he's taken a beating even in those wins. Cincinnati has allowed more than three sacks per game in 2016, a mark ranked 31st in the NFL. Expect that average to trend upward against a Washington team that's been exceptionally rude to opposing quarterbacks in its recent resurgence.