The Bengals are coming off one of the best comebacks in franchise history, when they overcame a 17-point, fourth-quarter deficit to top the Seattle Seahawks 27-24 in overtime last week.
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Safe to say these aren’t the Bengals of old.
Since he was drafted in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft, Andy Dalton has never gotten off to a start like this. Ryan will need to have his linebackers and secondary prepared to adjust for these types of atypical looks, or the Bengals will more easily sustain drives. That’s a big reason why this team is undefeated.
Seattle’s first interception of the season came late in the first half when free safety Earl Thomas picked off a Dalton pass intended for Green deep in Cincinnati territory. Regardless of his opponent, he’s found a way to get open and create havoc. “Every week I see him trying to do something to achieve that”. Something has to give this week. However, it is Tyler Eifert that should have Buffalo anxious.
A year after finishing with 19 touchdowns and 17 interceptions and struggling in a 26-10 playoff loss to Indianapolis, Dalton is off to the best start of his five-year career.
Given Buffalo’s injury situation on offense, scoring is going to be hard as it was last week in Tennessee, so there is massive pressure on the Bills defense. The Bengals have great offensive weapons.
With the Seahawks’ trust in their cornerbacks in one-on-one coverage in press, Dalton and the Bengals looked to exploit it routinely in the game. Two years ago, Giovani Bernard was the hot rookie who could get outside on a stretch play or catch passes. The fifth year Dalton had to overcome injuries at key pass-catching positions.
So far, Dalton has been the biggest difference. The Bills defense certainly wasn’t helped by their special teams who were downright awful.
Dalton’s play merits a few MVP discussion, and it’s a needed change from the aggressive narrative that Dalton is a bad quarterback simply because of his playoff output. Two of those four, Tom Brady and Eli Manning, beat the Bills already this year. He doesn’t have to set up any blockers or create yardage through contact, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t have to make a decision to be aggressive when he saw space outside. He was attempting to hold Thomas away from Sherman’s side, but Thomas was always going to be irrelevant for the throw Dalton ultimately attempts. This throw was followed by the same exact play for a touchdown that was called back due to holding. His contribution has ensured that the Bengals have the second best offense in the league, behind only the New England Patriots. Eifert has looked nearly Gronkian, on pace for a 77-catch, 998-yard, 16-touchdown line – despite a Week 3 goose egg in Baltimore – while ranking third among tight ends with 31.62 Reception NEP. Carlos Dunlap has added another six sacks and 11 quarterback hurries. Despite that, offensive coordinator Bill Lazor remains in his role. If there’s a weak link on Cincy’s defense, he may be it.
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One of the NFL’s best offenses so far hasn’t done all that much on the ground. That should be an interesting matchup against a tough Buffalo run defense.
