Though a first alternate for the 2012 NFL Pro Bowl -- likely named to the roster because either Vince Wilfork or Haloti Ngata will go to the Super Bowl (and thus not likely to play in the Pro Bowl one week prior to the big game) -- Bengals defensive tackle Geno Atkins finished the season with 7.5 quarterback sacks, tied for most amongst defensive tackles in the NFL. Additionally Atkins led all defensive tackles with 15 hits on the quarterback while falling one short of Ndamukong Suh's 27 quarterback pressures.

So it's rather confusing why the PFW/PFWA 2011 All-NFL team omitted one of the NFL's most productive and best defensive tackles.

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Here it is--the last "Unsung Hero of the Week Award" of the season. I hope by now that you all understand how this article works and what it's about. This piece honors the "guy behind the scenes" who does some of the necessary dirty work to help his team along the way. This week's selection for the award was difficult because of the Bengals' poor performance in the Wild Card game against the Texans.

I want to give a shout out to the readers for making this article a weekly staple by continually reading it, as well as commenting and casting votes. So, thank you all and send us out with a bang until we return with this feature for the 2012 season.

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Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton is one of five nominations included for this year's Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year. Dalton was nominated six times in 2011 for the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week, winning it twice. Much like the weekly awards, the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year is a fan vote that will run through 9:00 PM ET on Tuesday, January 31. The award will be presented to the winner at the site of Super Bowl XLVI during an NFL awards show on NBC that will air on February 4 at 9:00 PM on NBC.

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We know that we’re a little late with our weekly Game Ball, but due to Christmas and all of the other excuses in the book that simply implies having a forgetful nature. On the surface Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton didn’t post the type of numbers that warrants notice, completing 18 of 31 passes for 154 yards and two touchdowns. Additionally Dalton’s second half was shockingly ineffective, completing three of nine passes for 18 yards passing. Thankfully it was the first half that really mattered.

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Though New England's Tom Brady won the AFC Offensive Player of the Week on Wednesday, completing 27 passes for 304 yards and scoring three touchdowns (only one through the air), Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton was one of eight nominations this week after his performance against the Arizona Cardinals. Dalton, who completed 18 passes for 154 yards passing and two touchdowns (a majority of that in the first half), has already been nominated for Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week, which is a fan vote that goes until Friday afternoon.

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Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green has been Cincinnati's most dynamic player this season, posting 63 receptions for 1,031 yards receiving and seven touchdowns. Along with being the team's all-time leading rookie receiver, breaking Cris Collinsworth's mark that's stood for 30 years, Green is the first Cincinnati Bengals rookie to be named to the Pro Bowl since, you guessed it, Cris Collinsworth.

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You've seen the play countless times by now.

With 2:54 remaining in the second quarter, Andy Dalton felt pressure and found Jerome Simpson running a shallow crossing route not three yards beyond the line of scrimmage. Simpson angeled towards the left sidelines with a huge lane leading into the end zone, save for one problem -- the 230-pound Daryl Washington. Simpson could have cut to his right, juked right and squeezed through the left around the pylon. In Simpson's mind, none of that made any sense whatsoever.

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Bengals rookie quarterback Andy Dalton put together a great first half that helped Cincinnati establish a 20-point half time lead that would eventually be all that the Bengals would need to secure their ninth win of the year. In that first half Dalton completed 15 of 22 passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns and a passer rating of 115.0.

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