CINCINNATI -- No, we can't forget about Denver.
It was on a Monday night late last December against the Denver Broncos when Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton turned in a two-touchdown performance in a win over Peyton Manning & Co. But as good as that outing was, it paled in comparison to what Dalton did Thursday night in a 31-10 rout over the Cleveland Browns at Paul Brown Stadium.
With constant reminders all week about the last time he had played the Browns in prime time, Dalton made sure the demons of his past didn't rear their ugly heads again. He made his 2.0 passer rating against the Browns in last November's Thursday night game a distant memory.
Dalton finished with a 139.8 passer rating powered by a trio of quick-strike touchdowns to tight end Tyler Eifert.
Interceptions were problems for Dalton in past prime-time games, as his 11-touchdown, 11-interception ratio through his first 10 nighttime games showed. They didn't show up against Cleveland in this game, though. He played turnover-free football at night for the first time since Week 5 of last season at New England.
What it means: The win pushes the Bengals to 8-0, making them one of 22 Super Bowl era teams to start a season with that record. The win also ties a franchise-record winning streak the team set across two seasons. Dalton is now 4-7 with a pair of night games on the immediate horizon. Cincinnati hosts Houston on Monday, then travels to Arizona the following Sunday.
What were they thinking? Coming into the ballgame, the Bengals' defensive game plan involved doing whatever they could to keep containment on the outer edges of their unit. The idea? Keep Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel hemmed in; they didn't want him to be able to get outside and create problems with his feet. Well, the Bengals' mission was mostly accomplished. They did contain well for the most part on the outside, but that meant unintentionally allowing a few interior running lanes to regularly open. In turn, Manziel had success darting through them and collecting big yardage on the ground. The mobile signal-caller gained 31 yards on four rushes. Why was a linebacker not present in order to cut down on Manziel's interior escape? Whatever those issues were, they obviously had little impact on the outcome of the game.
One reason to be excited: The Bengals have turned to a number of different playmakers when trying to move the ball downfield throughout the season. Although they possess two of the NFL's top pass catchers in receiver A.J. Green and tight end Tyler Eifert, the Bengals have made good use of other offensive skill players. In addition to Green and Eifert, five other players caught passes against the Browns, and another was thrown to. On the ground, four players ran the ball, including receiver Mohamed Sanu, whose 25-yard touchdown run off a fourth-quarter reverse with Dalton as the lead blocker, gave the Bengals all the breathing room they needed.
One reason to panic: Special teams has been solid much of the year for the Bengals, but they have had two kicks blocked in the past two weeks. In addition to Kevin Huber's punt that was blocked Thursday night, the Bengals also had a field goal try blocked at Pittsburgh a week ago. If there's anything overly concerning for the Bengals coming out of these past couple of games, the blocks have to be it. Otherwise, they played about as complete a game overall as they could have hoped for.
Fantasy watch: Eifert was the Bengals' big fantasy hero, scoring his owners a season-high 23 points, thanks in large part to his three-touchdown effort. It was the third time in franchise history a Bengals tight end caught that many scores. He now has more touchdown receptions this season than Rob Gronkowski, who had been leading the league.
Ouch: Linebacker Vontaze Burfict gave the Bengals an injury scare in the middle of the second quarter when he ended up undergoing evaluations on the sideline for an apparent issue with his left knee. It was the same knee that required microfracture surgery in January to fix an injury he first received last October. That same injury forced him into missing the latter half of last season. In fact, because of his entire recovery, his first game action in nearly a year came last week at Pittsburgh. Moments after he was declared questionable to return, Burfict returned to the game. Otherwise, the Bengals remained injury-free.
Fourth-down help: Cincinnati had good fortune with fourth downs Thursday. On the Bengals' first drive of the game, they converted on fourth-and-inches when running back Jeremy Hill dove for a gain. A quarter later, they had another fourth down go well when Browns defensive tackle Randy Starks jumped offside on a red zone play the Bengals were attempting. One play after Hill's dive, Dalton snapped off a quick throw to Eifert for his first touchdown reception of the game. A couple plays after Starks' penalty, Dalton connected with Eifert once again on a 2-yard touchdown pass. The Bengals took good advantage of those extra opportunities.
