I usually focus on each team's playoff chances for these primetime NFL game previews at this time of year, because it's usually only good teams playing in those matchups this late in the season. Alas, the postseason is basically a pipe dream for both teams on Week 14's edition of Monday Night Football as the Bengals (4-8) visit the Cowboys (5-7) -- two teams that prove money can't buy a championship, or even a playoff spot. Cincinnati is a 5-point favorite and the total is 49.5.

It's very hard to win in the modern NFL once your starting quarterback is owed that huge contract extension, and that's where both Cincinnati and Dallas are right now -- certainly part of the reason both franchises have face-planted in 2024 and why both might have new head coaches in 2025. Mike McCarthy will almost surely not be back with the Cowboys, but Zac Taylor could get one more year with the Bengals, as they are prone to penny-pinching and Taylor has two years left on his deal.

Just before the season, Bengals QB Joe Burrow signed an extension worth $55 million annually that made him the NFL's highest-paid player in history by AAV. Burrow has played up to that deal with MVP-caliber numbers, but Cincinnati's defense is truly atrocious and the biggest reason why the Bengals are where they are. The financial situation will get no better this offseason when the likely have to make Ja'Marr Chase the league's highest-paid receiver in history. He's also having a huge year.

Before the ink was dry on Burrow's deal, the Cowboys signed Dak Prescott to a contract with $60 million annually. The 2023 NFL MVP runner-up was not playing up to that deal and went down with a season-ending injury in early November. Dallas also made CeeDee Lamb the NFL's second-highest-paid WR before the season and will likely have to make Micah Parsons the highest-paid defender in league history this coming offseason. So while it's nice to have stars like these clubs do, it's very challenging to build a Super Bowl-contending roster when just a few players take up such a big chunk of the salary cap.

If you were wondering why this game between two bad teams wasn't flexed out -- I'm not sure a Cowboys game has ever been flexed out of primetime -- it's because ESPN/Disney will air an alternate broadcast of the game around "The Simpsons."  The broadcast is called "The Simpsons Funday Football" and will feature Bart teaming up with the Bengals and Homer with the Cowboys. CBS originated that type of kid-centric alternate NFL programming in January 2021 for a Saints-Bears game on Nickelodeon and it was a monstrous success. You may remember then-Saints coach Sean Payton fulfilling his promise after the win by getting slimed.  

We'll take you through every aspect of the Bengals vs. Cowboys game that you need to know before you lock in your bets, including SportsLine expert picks, props, trends, DFS, injury information and everything else that will help you know which plays are worth making for the primetime matchup.

Who wins Bengals vs. Cowboys in the Week 14 Monday night game, and what critical X-factor makes one side of the spread hit HARD? Join SportsLine right now to see everything you need to know to dominate your Monday Night Football bets, plus get expert picks, model sims, prop bets, DFS lineups, and more!