Hmm Andy Dalton and the Bengals actually

PITTSBURGH It's probably not quite time to change the way we talk about Andy Dalton or the Cincinnati Bengals. Not fully, at least; seven games does not a true course alteration make.That day, though the one Neville Hewitt Jersey when were all forced to accept the Bengals as a legitimate contender led by a reliable quarterback could be comingsoon. They certainly looked the part on Sunday in Pittsburgh, beating the Steelers 16-10 after a games worth of impre sive defensive play and a drives worth of Good Andy Dalton.MORE: Best of NFL Week 8 | NFL trade deadline rumorsFor the first time in its history, a franchise that for, oh, 30 years or so has alternated largely between mediocrity and putridity is 7-0. Leading them to this point is a quarterback whos done some alternating of his own; the hallmark of Daltons pre-2015 career is a near-impre sive ability to look like a Pro Bowler one week and a backup the next.We mentioned Good Andy Dalton earlier. Bad Andy Dalton, on the other hand, usually pops up during the playoffs, where hes 0-4, or late in regular-season games. The mistakes, too often, have been there.So, in the fourth quarter, when Dalton chucked a pick in the end zone and then doubled his season interception total in a 3:27 span, it was probably a little too Jermon Bushrod Jersey easy to jump to conclusions. Plenty, based on Twitter alone, were comfortable with it.Was that wholly fair to Dalton? Probably not; hed engineered comeback wins in two of Cincinnatis wins and walked into Pittsburgh with the leagues best QB rating (116.1), completing more than 67 percent of his pa ses for 1,761 yards, 14 touchdowns and two picks.Indeed, hed been great all season. That was the problem; past precedent being what it is, he was due to look terrible. He was due to lose a game on his own. He wasnt, though, and he didnt.Down 7-6 and with the ball after Shawn Williams interception, Dalton took the Bengals 45 yards for the go-ahead score. He pa sed for 35 of them, including a nine-yard touchdown to A.J. Green, and managed to engineer three more points a few minutes later.After the game, and after he and Dalton executed a fairly complex handshake involving multiple finger snaps, Bengals cornerback Adam Pacman Jones answered a question that, at its e sence, was What is it like knowing that people a sume your quarterback is going to blow it?His response, delivered in the most cheerful way po sible, was cla sic.Man, if yall dont leave Andy alone, man. God damn," Jones said. "Why yall keep me sing with Andy? Let Andy be. Hes doing what hes supposed to do.Wide receiver Marvin Jones, a little le s directly, was Walt Aikens Jersey asked what Dalton brings to the table. His answer echoed coach Marvin Lewis, who called Daltons ability to rebound from mistakes one of his great traits.Resilience, Jones said. Thats what we have to have. He cant be perfect every game. Obviously he threw a couple picks, but we never were down or anything like that.And he wasnt perfect. He also wasnt terrible. Thats important.Through all that, the main reason Dalton, Jones and Co., didnt need to worry and scoring six points through more than three quarters typically would elicit that was Cincinnatis defense. Ben Roethlisberger, in his first game back after an MCL injury, threw three interceptions; one to Williams and two to Reggie Nelson. The Steelers gained 378 total yards, but Cincinnati blunted that with the turnovers.Theyre a good unit, and have been for years. Its been easy to overlook that this season.When we get inside the meeting room, its all offense, Nelson said with a laugh. Hopefully itll be a lot of defense up there this time.We just kept getting the ball back to Andy and when we did they kept on fighting. That's what we are supposed to do, get the ball back to Andy and let him go to work."The end result is a team that seems legitimately confident in itself, and for good reason. If youre the type of person that believes in statement wins, Cincinnati beating Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh qualifies. Last season, in Week 17 at Heinz Field, the Steelers beat the Bengals 27-17 and won the AFC North title.Jones said Pittsburgh punished him and his teammates in that game, and that he wasnt interested in a repeat performance. That, Jones said, was part of the reason he wound up flagged for unnece sary roughne s in the Matt Darr Jersey first quarter, when he shoved Pittsburgh long snapper Greg Warren after a punt return.I was just trying to send a me sage, like, its not gonna happen this year. Its not, Jones said. Were not getting punked this year.Green (11 catches, 118 yards) said the same.We know Pittsburghs a physical team. Thats their history, Green said. But also, were the Bengals of the new. Were physical as well. So were gonna keep punching til somebody gets knocked out.