Morning Bites (10/28): Bengals beat Jets 49-9 edition

Andy Dalton, Cincinnati Bengals show they're among AFC elite
The Bengals dismantled the shell-shocked Jets 49-9 at Paul Brown Stadium, and believe it or not, Cincinnati arrives at its season's halfway point owning the largest division lead in the NFL. The Bengals are 6-2 and have a comfy 2½-game cushion over second-place Baltimore (3-4) in the once-proud AFC North. Only Kansas City (eight straight) and San Francisco (five) own longer active winning streaks than Cincinnati (four).

Bengals wide receiver Marvin Jones reflects on 4 touchdown performance against Jets
It began with waffles and eggs and a drive to Paul Brown Stadium to take care of some business. "I guess that’s what I’ll eat from now on," Jones said with a laugh in a telephone interview with FOXSports.com Sunday night.

Daugherty: Bengals' 40-point win surprises, impresses
If there had been a complaint about the young and richly talented Bengals, it was that they hadn’t played every phase of the game consistently well and all at once. Well, so much for that, writes Paul Daugherty.

Fifth Quarter: Bengals 49, Jets 9
Joe Reedy gives away his game ball and offers further review, five key numbers, Reedy's Read, a quote of note, Three Keys Revisited and Who-Dey Haiku.

Bengals' Chris Crocker has homework pay off
When asked if he anticipated the ball coming his way on the Jets first drive of the third quarter, Chris Crocker flashed a quick smile. "I study," he said.

Bengals Blogs | Cincinnati Wrecks Ryan And Crushes Jets
New York Jets coach Rex Ryan ran with the bulls in Pamplona last summer. I wonder if he felt like he was being chased by angry beasts again on Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium. "This is one of the best performances that we’ve had here from start to finish," said James Harrison.

Bengals win puts them in control of AFC North
The Bengals can put the AFC North in lockdown over the next 3 games after pummeling the Jets.

Andy Dalton's trust helps Marvin Jones' confidence grow
When Marvin Jones was in college, he played with six different quarterbacks. None of them could do with him what the Cincinnati Bengal

Bengals on roll ... but can they sustain it?
By virtue of their opponent, the Cincinnati Bengals were streamed live Sunday afternoon into millions of televisions, computers, tablets

Rapid Reaction: Cincinnati Bengals
A few thoughts on the Cincinnati Bengals' 49-9 win against the New York Jets. What it means.

Matthew Stafford's comeback over Dallas Cowboys a coming-of-age moment
Understand that before this season, he had doubters (not disbelievers, mind you, but doubters) everywhere—inside his organization, in his own locker room, and all around Cincinnati. He went a very long way toward dispelling them Sunday against a professional defense run by Rex Ryan and the playoff-threatening Jets. He completed 19 of 30 passes for 325 yards and five touchdowns. Four went to the uber-confident Marvin Jones, proving this isn’t a one-wideout team.

ReFo: Jets @ Bengals, Week 8 | ProFootballFocus.com
Steve Palazzolo looks at a memorable day for the Dalton-Jones connection and a down day for Geno Smith and for the Jets' corners.

Week 8 takeaways: Andy Dalton letting Bengals take control
The Cincinnati Bengals go as Andy Dalton goes, which makes it no surprise they have started to look like an AFC contender now that their third-year quarterback has gotten back on track.

NFL Week 8 Winners and Losers: Officials’ exuberance costs the Dolphins a shot at a win
This isn't the kind of team that would mess around at home against a bad team playing a backup quarterback. The Bengals left no doubt on Sunday that they're ready to be a real contender in the AFC (but we knew that last week, right?).

NFL Grades Week 8: Calvin Johnson reminds Dez Bryant who's tops
Statement game from Andy Dalton, eh? The Red Rocket tossed five touchdown passes against the Jets, shredding one of the better defenses in the NFL at home in a Cincinnati blowout. The Bengals defense completely bottled up the Jets when it mattered.

NY Jets defense declawed by Andy Dalton, Marvin Jones and Cincinnati Bengals offense
The bullies roughed up the visitors so soundly that you could barely recognize the poor guys headed back to New Jersey by the end of the night. The Bengals were hardly gracious hosts in a 49-9 names-takin’, ass-kickin’ beatdown over the Jets Sunday that left even the eternal green-clad optimist with this sobering conclusion: Rex Ryan’s team is destined for mediocrity this season.

For NY Jets rookie cornerback Dee Milliner, growing pains continue
Benched on Sunday afternoon, Jets cornerback Dee Milliner, the ninth player selected in April’s NFL draft, lamented the latest miscues of his rookie season. Unable to keep pace with Cincinnati’s receivers, Milliner maintained that his trouble wasn’t due to mental errors.

Bengals tight end duo 'phenomenal'
Said Gresham of the incident: "To be honest with you, I didn’t see him. I was wrong and I’m sorry it happened. No ifs, ands or buts. I knew coming in they were a physical team and that a lot of things happen after the play. He came up from behind me and I made a boneheaded mistake that took my team out of field-goal range. It was real stupid. I was just trying to be physical and tough and it happened at the wrong time."

Marvin Lewis postgame video
Marvin Lewis after the Bengals beat the Jets on Sunday.

Doc: Time to revise history of Bob Bedinghaus?
Even Bedinghaus says the criticism is fair. "There will always be critics. To them, I was the face of a bad idea,’’ he said.