Let’s take a closer look at the main driving force behind the Bengals’ success so far: the play of quarterback Andy Dalton. The problem is that he has never played this well consistently; it is nearly as if he stole Andrew Luck’s passing ability like the Monstars did in Space Jam. This will be Dalton’s biggest test of the season until the Bengals week 12 game against the Cardinals. Dalton has nine touchdowns, just one interception and is competing more than 67 percent of his throws. Dalton’s (1.7) trails only Fitzpatrick.
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There will be no asterisk this week, as the Bengals come in averaging 422 yards per game, second in the National Football League, and 294 passing, which ranks fourth.
Meanwhile, the Bengals – and particularly their quarterback – are off to a stellar start.
“Tarvaris has always been incredible to us”, left tackle Russell Okung said.
However, the moves they did make were to improve depth. That’s two more giveaways in six games than he had in the 16-game regular season of 2014. That’s the longest streak since one-time University of Pacific defensive back Pete Carroll became Seattle’s coach in 2010. Their only losses were backups Jermaine Gresham, Marshall Newhouse, and the aging Terence Newman. He’s got to go to a conference championship.
However, the Bengals’ offseason decisions to continue to build through the draft have gone unnoticed and seem to have finally started paying off in a huge way this season.
The Seahawks haven’t felt this good about their defense and specifically their secondary since before February’s Super Bowl.
Even though they’ve been very impressive while going 4-0, they’ve yet to catch everyone’s imagination and stamp themselves as an elite team. Lynch has run for at least 1,200 yards in each of the last four seasons, scoring 48 rushing touchdowns throughout that span. He now has 128 rushing yards through four weeks, despite only starting two games and seeing action in just three.
Though Dalton is in great company to start his career, he has earned himself the “unclutch” label for his struggles in the playoffs. They rank second in total offense, are plus 3 in turnover margin and only Atlanta and Arizona have scored more than Cincinnati’s 121 points. LeBron James, Dirk Nowitzki, and even both Manning brothers each come to mind here.
USA Today’s power rankings also had the Seattle Seahawks at No. 6, moving the team up one spot from last week.
New England Patriots running back Dion Lewis signed a two-year contract extension through the 2017 season.
A variety of factors can lead to Dalton’s misfortunes in the playoffs.
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The Cincinnati Bengals try to extend their unbeaten run when they host the surging Seattle Seahawks in the National Football League. As Calvin Johnson was trudging toward the end zone, Chancellor lowered the boom and stripped the ball before it could break the plane. That and the emergence of new cornerback Cary Williams mastering Seattle’s step-and-kick technique of jamming at the line opposite All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman make this unit whole again.
