NFL Week 5 Cardinals vs. Bengals: One rookie head coach to get first victory

There are six winless teams in the NFL entering Week 5, but we are guaranteed there will be one fewer – unless there's a tie – when the Arizona Cardinals (0-3-1) visit the Cincinnati Bengals (0-4) on Sunday. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. ET from Paul Brown Stadium with the Bengals as 3-point favorites on the NFL odds and an over-under total of 47.5. It might well be the last time Cincinnati is favored this season, especially if it is upset here.

Again, barring a tie something has to give here. Arizona hasn't won in its past eight games, losing by an average margin of about 13.3 points. The Cardinals were very fortunate to get a tie in Week 1 at home vs. Detroit, rallying from down 24-6 in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Kyler Murray of course was the No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft but still doesn't have a win, while fellow rookie QBs Daniel Jones (No. 6 overall) of the Giants and Gardner Minshew (sixth round) of the Jaguars each have two. And they didn't even open the year as their team's starters. Teams that play in the Pacific Time Zone often struggle in these 1 p.m. ET starts, and that's the case for the Cardinals as they have covered just three of their past 16 games in the early afternoon.

Cincinnati, meanwhile, is on a short week and looked awful Monday night in a 27-3 loss in Pittsburgh as Andy Dalton was sacked a career-high eight times – tied for the most by the Steelers over the past 15 years. Dalton hasn't had his No. 1 receiver AJ Green yet this season off ankle surgery and he's not close. In addition, breakout WR John Ross was hurt Monday and placed on injured reserve. Ross had 16 catches for 328 yards and three scores this year.

The Bengals' Zac Taylor is one of four first-year coaches yet to win a game, joining his Arizona counterpart Kliff Kingsbury, Denver's Vic Fangio and Miami's Brian Flores – the Fins are on the bye this week. Cincinnati is on a six-game losing streak on the NFL picks dating to the end of Marvin Lewis' tenure and losing those by an average of 10.7 points. In addition, the Bengals have lost seven of their past eight 1 p.m. ET starts.