CINCINNATI -- Just before leaving Paul Brown Stadium late Sunday afternoon, Hue Jackson walked past a pair of reporters in a brightly lit stadium hallway.
"Sometimes, they aren't going to be pretty, are they?" the offensive coordinator asked rhetorically, referencing the Cincinnati Bengals' 27-24 victory over AFC North foe Baltimore.
The same could be said about his quarterback's day.
Andy Dalton didn't have the cleanest performance of his career Sunday. With a 21-for-28, 266-yard, two-rushing-touchdown performance, he was significantly better than he was in last Sunday's shutout at Indianapolis. But he still wasn't as sharp overall as he has been at other times this year. He took two sacks and was part of two turnovers when he forced the ball, making questionable decisions.
When the game clock read 3:59 to go in the fourth quarter, though, none of that was important. At that time, he was in need of having a season-changing moment. The hour for Dalton to help justify his $115 million worth had arrived.
Down 24-20, he needed to take his offense 80 yards downfield for a touchdown.
As the Bengals readied for what appeared their final drive of the game, they needed him to simply manage the offense. The goal was to have a drive that ate the right amount of clock, but one that didn't drag rhythmically. With the Bengals having nearly the length of the field to travel, everyone in the stadium knew Dalton had to throw the ball.
After two incomplete passes started the drive, Dalton had given his doubters ammunition.
That's when Dalton turned to Mohamed Sanu.
On third-and-10, Dalton threw deep toward Sanu, who adjusted his route to confound safety Terrence Brooks. Instead of sprinting past Brooks on a go route, Sanu instead cut back inside as the ball came down a little short. Awkwardly jumping for it, Sanu caught the pass and collected a few more yards before getting wrestled down 53 yards downfield.
"I knew Andy would look my way, and I knew I had to make a big play," said Sanu, filling in for a third straight game for Pro Bowl receiver A.J. Green.
What started as an ugly drive suddenly looked promising. When Greg Little three plays later caught a first-down pass that put the Bengals on Baltimore's 6-yard line, hope reached its zenith. Cincinnati's game and season was not lost yet.
With a clear understanding of the crossroads he and the Bengals encountered on the drive, Dalton four plays later put the offense on his shoulders. As the Bengals faced fourth-and-goal at the 1, he changed orders at the line. Doing so put the Ravens in "exactly the look we wanted to get," Dalton said.
At the snap, he dove for the end zone.
And made it.
His third successful sneak of the game might have turned the Bengals' season around. Had he been denied, the Bengals would have lost and fell to 3-3-1, denied a win a fourth straight game.
He was charged to not let that happen. He was charged to convert key third downs and to check to plays that would get the Bengals a score.
It wasn't Dalton's prettiest drive, nor his prettiest day, but this finish showed why the Bengals signed him to a massive extension this preseason.
They believe in him.
