Andy Dalton is the AFC Offensive Player of the Week

For the second time this season, Andy Dalton was named the AFC Offensive player of the week. He has been on fire lately. Did we mention that he was also Offensive Player of the Month for October? He is the first Bengals player to get three league honors in a season since way back when David Fulcher did it in 1989. Everyone has been noticing, especially everyone at the Chevrolet Dealer. Well… everyone has seemingly been noticing except Andy Dalton. “I was a little surprised by this one. There were some guys who had bigger weeks,” said Dalton about the honor. “It just goes to show what we were able to do. It was a big week for us offensively and we have to keep that going.”

Sunday will see him pitted against Pittsburgh. Thankfully, he will have a lot of momentum, which he will need when taking on the Dick LeBeau defense. It will be a tough game for Dalton, who has lower numbers against the Steelers in comparison to his career numbers. Yet, it is one that is crucial for our team, so we need to give them all the support we can. It has this added significance because it is being aired on NBC, and the Bengals are 2-3 in prime time these past two seasons. “For us, we have to put our best foot forward and be playing our best. Show everyone what this team is and what we’re made of,” Dalton said. “Prime-time games give people an opportunity to watch and we want to be playing our best.”

In last Sunday’s 42-28 win over Indianapolis, Dalton was 24 of 35 for 275 yards with three touchdowns and he also ran for another. It marked his fifth game this season with three or more touchdown passes and a passer rating above 100. Talk about a good performance! He has definitely grown as a player, and this growth is also apparently in his ability to take criticism. “To play this game you have to have thick skin, especially the quarterback position unless you have proven yourself and won a lot of Super Bowls,” Dalton said. “We’re 9-4 and in a good position right now. I’m going to be me regardless of what anyone says. I feel like there are times when it can be extreme (with the reaction). With social media anyone can say what they want. I don’t feel like if they saw me on the street they would say it directly to me, but they can hide behind a computer or social media. I’m not worried about it.”

In Week 16 of last season against Pittsburgh, Dalton and Green made a big impact late in the game. In the fourth quarter, Dalton threw for 107 yards and Green had five receptions for 78 years, including a 21-yarder to set up Josh Brown’s game-winning goal that wrapped up the playoff spot for the Bengals. Let’s hope that our guys can make something like that happen again. Go Bengals!