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Cincinnati Bengals running back Jeremy Hill quickly reminded everyone on Sunday afternoon of who he is and what he can do... In case you forgot during the offseason. In the Bengals' opening drive, six of the 11 plays were rushes for the second year back. By the time the Bengals defeated the Raiders and the game was over, Hill rushed for 63 yards on 19 attempts, scoring two touchdowns in the process.
"The first half and the beginning of the second half, we did a lot of great things and definitely showed what we're capable of doing and all the weapons we have as an offense," Hill said after the game on Sunday. "We just got to continue to get better. The sky's the limit for us, especially after seeing some of the things that we could do. I'm excited, looking forward, we can get so much better, there are so many things we did wrong today that fans wouldn't see, but I'm excited."
Andy Dalton was another key in the Bengals' Week 1 win. Completing 25 of 34 passes for 269 yards and two touchdowns, Dalton had a quarterback rating of 115.9, with no interceptions and no sacks on the day. Hey, Dalton haters, what do you have to say now?
Dalton had only three games in 2014 with a higher QBR than he earned on Sunday. With many returning and newly-healthy weapons at his disposal, Dalton demonstrated that the Bengals' offense has the ability to wreak havoc on opposing defenses this season.
Hill is one person who believes Dalton had a great game. "Andy played great, for us, we don't really look at the throws and all those things, we look at the leadership," Hill said. "He was such a good leader today, he got us lined up, and he got us in all the right plays and he just did every little thing right, and he was vocal and did all the things you need a quarterback to do in this league."
Leadership is something Dalton had been working on this offseason. It showed in training camp when he got vocal with players like Russell Bodine when he made mistakes in practice. Now, it's showing in games, too. "You know, that's what we need from Andy and I was so excited to see that and it's going to be big going down the stretch to see that," Hill said. "I think Andy's going to be a big piece of us."