Bengals Early Bird Special: Bengals Preparing for Two Week Run Against AFC South

Good morning everyone. Hope you all are well rested and ready for today. It's the mid-point of the week and it's pretty much all downhill from here.

For the next two weeks the Bengals will be squaring off against AFC South opponents in the Jaguars and Colts. And when looking at both games, well it's easy to conclude that both games are very winnable for the Bengals. I'm not going to deem either games as a "guaranteed" win because anything can happen during the course of a game and over the next two weeks. But one could consider both match-ups as games that the Bengals "should" win.

When taking a closer look at the Jags, we already know they lack an offense. They haven't even averaged ten points a contest while allowing about 21 points a game. From those stats alone it would appear as if the Bengals are in line for an easy win. Jacksonville also lacks a legitimate threat on offense that isn't name Maurice Jones-Drew. Their quarterback Blaine Gabbert is still developing just like Andy Dalton, but it seems as if Dalton is developing quicker than Gabbert. That's fine by me. But knowing the Bengals a win won't come easily. It will be a long, hard battle that will hopefully leave Bengals Nation smiling and satisfied in the end.

The following week the Bengals are set to battle it out with the Peyton Manning-less Colts. Let's face it, Indianapolis isn't going to do much of anything this season. Kerry Collins and Curtis Painter aren't the answer for them. Collins looks his age out there. And even though Painter had a respectable performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he probably just got lucky against them. Tampa Bay hasn't been that solid against the pass all season. But against one of the top defenses (I only say that because the rankings can change after Sunday), it seems unlikely that he will have that kind of success.

Either way, the Bengals have to head into each game well prepared with their heads held up high. Because in all honesty, not many people expected them to be playing this well a quarter of the way through the season.

Alright here is a look at what you may have missed or overlooked from Tuesday.

• Every game there is that one player who kind of flies under the radar and doesn't get recognized for their achievements that they reach during the game. Kind of like an unsung hero. This week the Unsung Hero Award goes to.....  
• Take a look at the AFC South quarterback situation and the impact it will have when the Bengals square off against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Indianapolis Colts.
• According to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, a decision on Cedric Benson should be coming soon. What will the Bengals do once a decision is finally reached?
• The Monday Touchdown on a Tuesday. When the Bengals do something as amazing as they did on Sunday, it gets kind of hard to write or do anything other than celebrate.
• Ever since the Bengals drafted tight end Jermaine Gresham he has been nothing, but pure awesomeness. He has been living up to the hype that surrounded him and he's on pace to have the best year by a Bengals tight end since 1995.
• If there is any confusion surrounding the Bobbie Williams exemption, well then, here is some clarification on the situation.
• Surprisingly the Bengals are still under the salary cap and are ranked ninth by being $17.5 million under the cap. Please note the sarcasm in the first half of the statement.
• The Bengals made an impressive jump in the power rankings this week.
• With his performance on Sunday, A.J. Green was nominated for the Pepsi NFL Player of the Week.
• And with his heroic efforts against the Bills, Andy Dalton has been nominated for this week's GMC Never Say Never Moment of the Week. 
• In order for SB Nation to enhance your experience, we here at Cincy Jungle would appreciate your feedback with this survey.
• During his Bengals career, Cedric Benson hasn't necessarily won games on his own. But he has been able to secure them with a hammer and nail....so to say.
• Currently with a drug investigation that involves Jerome Simpson, one has to wonder how much of a toll the investigation is actually having on him?