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He's Been Forced to Throw to Some New Faces, but Andy Dalton is Still Playing Well
Prior to breaking his right thumb over Stephon Tuitt’s knee in Week 13, Andrew Gregory Dalton’s 2015 season was easily the best of his five-year career, on pace for full-season personal bests in touchdown passes and interceptions. (Dalton finished with seven picks in 12-plus games played; his lowest 16-game total is 13). Career bests in completion percentage (66.1), yards per attempt (8.4), and quarterback rating (106.2, a massive increase from his previous top number of 88.8) looked like sure things as well.
Podcast: Bengals Line with Will Clarke and C.J. Uzomah
Will Clarke and C.J. Uzomah join Lance McAlister and Dave Lapham for a fun night at Holy Grail. Listen to the two hour show.
Cincinnati Bengals missing Tyler Eifert with red zone efficiency
The Cincinnati Bengals could rattle off a number of reasons for their 2-2 record, whether it’s four touchdown passes allowed against the Denver Broncos or a run game ranked among the league’s worst. The other, unspoken reason for their first two losses? He’s actually sitting on the Bengals bench.
Chasing Calvin Johnson: A.J. Green, Julio Jones, Marvin Jones can make run at mark
Julio Jones has tried and come close. So has Antonio Brown and DeAndre Hopkins. They have all learned the same thing: Chasing Calvin Johnson’s single-season receiving yards mark is a very, very difficult thing to do. Even in this era of high-powered passing offenses with receivers built to make big plays, no one else has even broken the 1,900-yard barrier, let alone hit his mark of 1,964 yards.
Matt Ryan and Julio Jones put on an aerial show Sunday against the Panthers, combining for around 110 fantasy points (depending on your scoring format). If you opponent had either of them this weekend, chances are you lost. If they had both of them, you might be considering deleting your account and just starting over again with a daily fantasy league. Not even the best NFL analyst could have predicted Ryan and Jones would do what they did this week. But, that is why you grab Jones as the first WR off the board, and Ryan off the waiver wire (in most leagues this year), because games like this ARE possible.
Like Jerry Jones said, he didn’t think Dallas would be 3-1 with a rookie quarterback and the matchup on Sunday (4:25 p.m.-Cincinnati’s Channel 12) doesn’t look as enticing for the Bengals as it once did. But as good as Dak Prescott has played, there’s no bigger wild card in the NFL than a rookie QB. The Bengals have a veteran defense that can bait youngsters and linebacker Vontaze Burfict is back. The key is if they can hold up against arguably the NFL’s best offensive line.
Watch: Kevin Huber on Beyond the Stripes
Bengals punter Kevin Huber joined us tonight on Beyond the Stripes at 7 p.m. at Hofbräuhaus Newport. He joined Bengals beat writers Paul Dehner and Jim Owczarski, columnist Paul Daugherty and sideline reporter Lindsay Patterson.
First look: Bengals at Cowboys
The Cincinnati Bengals (2-2) got back to .500 on a short week by beating the Miami Dolphins 22-7 on Thursday night. The defense rallied after allowing another long touchdown pass to shut down the Dolphins' offense, while A.J. Green turned in another monster performance in leading the Bengals to a victory.
AFC North Bytes
Clifton Brown details Ravens' decision to release Forsett
CSN Insider Clifton Brown talks to Julie Donaldson about his discussion with Justin Forsett, who was released by the Baltimore Ravens on Tuesday afternoon.
Isaiah Crowell sends 1st game check to Dallas Fallen Officers and finds daylight out of the darkness
Sergeant Demetrick Pennie, President of Dallas Fallen Officer Foundation, got a call from his pubic relations officer last week saying he received a big check from Browns running back Isaiah Crowell.
Marcus Gilbert Injury: Updates
Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Marcus Gilbert injured his ankle in Week 4 against the Kansas City Chiefs. His official playing status for Week 5 against the New York Jets has yet to be announced.
Random Bytes
Best player at every position in Week 4
Sam Monson reveals Pro Football Focus' Team of the Week for Week 4 of the 2016 NFL season, featuring Julio Jones, Matt Ryan, and Olivier Vernon.
The good and bad of all 32 NFL starting quarterbacks
How is Matt Ryan carving up defenses? Where does Dak Prescott need to improve? Mike Sando digs into the numbers to give reasons to be optimistic and pessimistic about every NFL starting QB.
New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick is the greatest enigma in sports
Call Bill Belichick what you want, but these accounts of his uncompromising life -- from prodigy to professional ballbuster -- reveal why history might one day call him the greatest.
Could the Presidential election be hurting NFL ratings?
NFL ratings—even for marquee matchups—are way down from a year ago. Could the Presidential election be part of the decline?
ESPN Films Announces Next Three Documentaries in 30 for 30 Series
ESPN Films’ Peabody and Emmy Award-winning 30 for 30 series continues this fall with three new documentaries that will air in October, November and December. Currently in the midst of its third volume, the series is fresh off a summer which featured the popular and critically acclaimed premieres of both "O.J.: Made in America" and "Doc & Darryl."