Bengals Bytes (10/9): Going Green

Green, Bengals find a way to finish
Suddenly, The Young and The Winless are only a game out in the AFC North and Andy Dalton is again The Red Rifle instead of the NFL’s red-headed step child after Sunday’s redemptive and riveting 20-16 gut check over the Bills at wash-and-go Paul Brown Stadium. Dalton and his youthful Bengals were the picture of resiliency in a game everyone said they had to have now that they’re 2-3 and headed into their bye after that god awful 0-3 start. Needing his gimpy ankle taped early in the second quarter, Dalton engineered his first fourth-quarterback comeback victory since last year’s opener and although he threw his first two interceptions since this year’s opener, he’s thrown seven touchdowns in the last three games. He preserved the 18th game-winning drive of his career with a courageous six-yard scramble before drilling five straight passes for 58 yards to take 5:26 off the clock and give the Bengals a 20-16 lead with 3:33 left.

TDBH: Ickey, O-line make AFC power play at 6-0
The Bengals offensive line and a rookie running back take command of the AFC in powerful fashion today when Ickey Woods comes off the bench to maul the Jets’ top-ranked AFC defense with 139 yards and two TDs on 30 carries in a 36-19 victory that shakes the conference’s balance of power. The picture on the front page of Monday’s Cincinnati Enquirer tells the story with wide receiver Tim McGee flashing six fingers to the lingering Riverfront Stadium crowd after the game to signify they have matched the Bengals’ best start of 6-0 by the 1975 team. “The Shuffle,” apparently comes later. The power is here now.

Dalton, Bengals gut out 20-16 win
Bobbing and weaving on a dinged ankle, quarterback Andy Dalton gutted out the 22nd 300-yard game of his career Sunday and his two huge throws to tight end Tyler Kroft translated into Randy Bullock’s 29-yard field goal with 3:33 left that put the Bills away in a 20-16 victory before 52,367 at Paul Brown Stadium.

Bills at Bengals Postgame Quotes
It’s a good win for the football team, a great grind the third and fourth quarter. That’s what it’s all about. They kept coming back, and our good players showed up today. We overcame bad plays, made better plays, and that’s what we have to have all the time. It’s what you have to do in the NFL week after week. You’re going to play games where you’re down and have to a find a way to fight your way back in. When the ball doesn’t bounce your way, you’ve got to make it bounce your way and get back after it, and we did today. So, it’s a good win.

Quick hits: Green saved; First comeback since '16 opener; Defense eyes club sack record; Mixon's TD
Ever since he arrived in 2011 A.J. Green has rescued more Bengals than the Cincinnati Zoo but during Sunday’s 20-16 victory over the Bills at Paul Brown Stadium the roles were reversed. Despite a monster game with 189 yards and his longest touchdown in more than two years, Green had a hand in all three turnovers that turned into 10 Buffalo points. Two went off his hands for interceptions. One was a fumble in the red zone that negated a 20-yard catch. But Andy Dalton converted 40 percent of his third downs on a gimpy ankle, rookie running back Joe Mixon ran in a three-yard TD for the winning score as well as the clock-killing final first down, and tight end Tyler Kroft converted a third-and-five with 6:45 left.

Bengals get rolling, eagerly await Steelers
Coach Marvin Lewis wanted to make a point to the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday night after their 20-16 victory against the Buffalo Bills. He told them was proud of them. “They just kept fighting,” Lewis said. “There were some plays that weren’t quite our best today, but we overcame them and kept fighting and made the next play, and they hung in there together. It took literally all three phases, all day long.”

Cincinnati Bengals' win over Bills opens up AFC North
The Cincinnati Bengals' first two weeks of the season were about as disastrous as they could get. But now the team that was close to spiraling out of control to start the year looks like it's just getting started.

Bills vs. Bengals - Game Recap
The Bengals took A.J. Green at his word. They kept throwing his way, even after the ball repeatedly slipped through his wet hands. The elusive receiver found a way to make the difference, just as promised. Green contributed to three turnovers that kept it close, but he also had a 77-yard touchdown and another long catch that set up the go-ahead score Sunday, rallying Cincinnati to a 20-16 victory over the Buffalo Bills in a steady rain.

Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis to A.J. Green: 'Go win the game'
It’s easier to do after a hard, 20-16 victory over Buffalo on Sunday. He shook his head through, unable to think of another time in his football life where he was responsible for three turnovers but also dominated the way he did with seven catches for 189 yards. Tyler Kroft looked down the row of lockers at the second wave of cameras and microphones circling Green and smiled as well.

Dalton, Green lift Bengals past Bills
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green shook his head and smiled when asked by a reporter if he had ever had a game like Sunday. “That was a first,” Green said, “and hopefully the last.” It wasn’t pretty, but Green and the Bengals will take it.

Top 3 things we learned from Bills-Bengals
Buffalo’s opportunistic secondary was at it again on Sunday. A week after getting two interceptions and a fumble return for a touchdown, the Bills defensive backfield got two more interceptions and a fumble recovery. Micah Hyde made his fourth interception of the season off a tipped Andy Dalton pass in the second quarter. It was his fourth interception in the team’s first five games making him the first Bills defensive back to do that since Henry Jones in 1992.

Bengals win despite 3 turnovers
The Bengals took A.J. Green at his word. They kept throwing his way, even after the ball repeatedly slipped through his wet hands. The elusive receiver found a way to make the difference, just as promised. Green contributed to three turnovers that kept it close, but he also had a 77-yard touchdown and another long catch that set up the go-ahead score Sunday as Cincinnati rallied to a 20-16 victory over the Buffalo Bills in a steady rain.

Bills sacked in Cincy
For the second time this season, Buffalo wasted an inspired defensive effort on an opposing field, and endured a tough loss, this one 20-16 to the Bengals on Sunday afternoon before 52,367 rain-drenched observers at Paul Brown Stadium. The Bills ‘D’ wasn’t as stingy as it was in a 9-3 defeat at Carolina earlier this season, but it was good enough.

LeSean McCoy vents about ‘frustrating’ Bills’ offense following loss vs. Bengals
Leading up to Sunday’s 20-16 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, the Buffalo Bills were viewed as one of the hottest teams in the NFL. Now heading into the bye week with a 3-2 record, Buffalo will be tasked with turning around an offense that’s struggled to find a rhythm over the last few games.

AFC North Bytes

Monday Morning Digest: The Bell Tolls for Big Ben
In the wake of Ben Roethlisberger's five-interception cataclysm in the Steelers' 30-9 loss to the Jaguars—a game that looked worse on the field than it does on the stat sheet—everyone was thinking it. But no one expected Roethlisberger himself to say it.

The Good And Bad As Browns Fall To 0-5 Again With 17-14 Loss To Jets
The Browns fell to 0-5 for the fourth time since 1999 following a 17-14 loss to the Jets. The franchise is now 1-20 since Hue Jackson took over as coach and the rebuild plan began in 2016 as well as an NFL-worst 2-30 over their last 32 games, 4-38 since beginning the 2014 season 7-4.

Joe Flacco, Ravens show resiliency in responding to pressure
All week, quarterback Joe Flacco and the Baltimore Ravens heard criticism about their struggling offense. Where were the deep throws? Why couldn't the Ravens score early? When does Flacco's interception streak end? The way the Ravens responded to those questions and the most pressure-filled situations Sunday resulted in a 30-17 win over the Oakland Raiders. From the 52-yard pass to Mike Wallace on the first play to running out the clock in the fourth quarter, the NFL's 30th-ranked offense showed more resiliency than it had all season.The Ravens (3-2) now find themselves tied atop the AFC North with the Pittsburgh Steelers, although their rival owns the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Random Bytes

Aaron Rodgers Sends Message to Entire NFL with Statement Win over Cowboys
Every time Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is given a game-winning-drive situation, there's almost a collective eye-roll that ripples through social media. You were probably guilty of assuming the outcome before a snap was taken on the Packers' eventual game-winning drive in the final minutes Sunday—a drive that sealed a 35-31 win over the Dallas Cowboys. Come on, just raise your hand and admit it. I'll start.

Odell Beckham to Undergo Surgery After Suffering Ankle Injury vs. Chargers
New York Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. will undergo surgery after leaving Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Chargers with an injury, according to ESPN.com's Jordan Raanan. The team confirmed Beckham Jr. suffered a fractured ankle. CBS Sports showed Beckham being carted off the field in the fourth quarter and holding his left leg

Video Allegedly with Dolphins Coach Chris Foerster Snorting White Powder Leaked
The Miami Herald's Armando Salguero reported Sunday the Miami Dolphins are investigating a video that allegedly shows offensive line coach Chris Foerster snorting a white powder off a table. "We were just made aware of the video and will have no comment at this time," the Dolphins said in a statement.

J.J. Watt Hospitalized After Suffering Leg Injury, Reportedly Out for Season
Houston Texans superstar defensive lineman J.J. Watt suffered a serious left leg injury Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Texans announced Watt has a tibial plateau fracture. According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, he will miss the rest of the 2017 season. Watt was seen on crutches entering an ambulance after suffering the injury, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.

Alex Smith, Chiefs Breeze Past Texans as JJ Watt Suffers Serious Leg Injury
Nobody can stop the Kansas City Chiefs. The NFL's only remaining undefeated team moved to 5-0 Sunday with a 42-34 road victory over the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. Quarterback Alex Smith continued his impressive season with 324 passing yards and three touchdowns—two of which went to Charcandrick West—while Kareem Hunt tallied 107 yards on the ground.