FRISCO, Texas -- When the Cowboys and Bengals meet on Monday Night Football, a lot of attention will go to how Cincinnati's high-powered offense will fare against a Dallas defense that has started to find its stride over the last few weeks. Cowboys cornerback Jourdan Lewis acknowledged that despite the Bengals 4-8 record, they're still a dangerous opponent.
"Try to be aggressive, push the ball down field," Lewis said of Cincinnati's offensive style. "We got to be prepared to stop that because they got to a lot of playmakers that make plays and can burn us. We just got to go out there and execute, it doesn't matter what their record is."
The Bengals are fifth in the NFL in points per game (27.9), first in passing yards per game (264.3), and ninth in total yards per game (356). Seven of their eight losses this season have come in one possession games and the Bengals average 27.75 points per game in losses, which is more than the Cowboys average per game this season (20.7). It's safe to say it won't be an easy challenge to overcome.
"It's tough," Lewis said when asked how to stop a high-powered offense like Cincinnati's. "You just got to give Joe [Burrow] a lot of different looks, a variety of different looks, and hopefully we can get some stops and just go out there and prepare our hearts and go out there and execute on those guys and challenge those receivers."
The receivers that Lewis mentioned are headlined by Ja'Marr Chase, who has strengthen his connection with Joe Burrow and leads the league in receiving yards with 1,142 to go along with a league-leading 13 receiving touchdowns.
"He's the entire package," Lewis said of Chase. "He's strong, fast, quick, and he can catch the ball. He's a running back when he has the ball in his hands and he can go up and go get the ball. At the point of attack, he's very strong and he can break tackles and different things like that.
"He can do everything; he's a tremendous talent and it's going to be a definitely hard challenge"
And the Bengals' stockpile of weapons doesn't run out with Chase alone.
"They got some guys like Tee Higgins too, that can go get the ball, and [Mike] Gesicki, good tight end, he's very deceptive in the way he runs routes and different things like that," Lewis said. "They got a lot of good pieces out there that can go out there and attack defenses."
Dallas' defense has a lot of good pieces too, and there's a chance that three of their best will share the field for the first time this season. Trevon Diggs, DaRon Bland, and Lewis all have yet to play alongside one another. Diggs is dealing with a knee injury and his game status is still up in the air, but if the trio is able to suit up alongside one another on Monday, it'll be a welcome sight for the three of them and the Cowobys defense.
"We've never been on the same field together, so it feels good," Lewis said. "DaRon looks good, he looks like he's in prime shape. The way he practiced today was excellent, we're just hoping we can go out there and show guys that we can execute together."
"Just make sure that comradery that even though we haven't played together, it shows on the field."
Coming off a 27-20 win over the Giants on Thanksgiving that saw the Cowboys defense get two takeaways, Lewis has seen the Dallas defense take steps in the right direction over the course of the last few weeks, and now will look to keep their momentum rolling against the Bengals.
"We've been taking the ball away, being aggressive," Lewis said. "Making sure we attack the team that we playing and stopping the run, making sure we neutralize the run first so we can get after the passer."
