Bengals preparing as if AJ McCarron is the starting QB

As UPI.com reported, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis wasn’t happy with Andy Dalton when he shared that information. “That’s muscle memory. But I’m just trying to keep doing whatever I can”. “He puts a lot of pressure on himself that way”.

For Dalton, there’s still a big difference between having a cast removed and being able to properly grip a football with that hand, much less throw one effectively.

Lewis would not immediately share the results of that exam.

The Bengals were close to earning a first-round bye against the Denver Broncos and now face Roethlisberger, who many feel is the most talented quarterback in the division.

I’m a bit of a conspiracy theorist, so I at least had to listen when Steelers fans in South Dakota came out of the woodwork and suggested the New England Patriots did their level best, not once but twice, to avoid seeing Pittsburgh until it was absolutely necessary.

Andy Dalton broke his right thumb while making a tackle on an interception return on December 13 against the Steelers at Paul Brown Stadium. With Williams injured, the Bengals are likely to see Fitzgerald Toussaint at running back and could use that to make the Steelers’ offense very one-dimensional.

Since that opening game against Pittsburgh, McCarron played true to his word. That’s three starts without a single interception.

McCarron now says he has no idea what became of the wristband, which is probably for the best. “This comes down to who’s going to take care of the football”. A week earlier the Steelers got the Ravens’ fourth quarterback, Ryan Mallett. Cincinnati has three, none of whom has won a playoff game while with the Bengals. The Kansas City Chiefs started the regular season horribly with their record being 1-5, and that one win being against yours truly, the Texans. Eight NFL playoff games over four weekend days.

In fact, Cincinnati is considered a slight underdog at home against Pittsburgh.

“The mentality of us against the world, we kind of thrived off that”, said Ward. The Bengals were roughed up by the Steelers a few weeks ago and they would love to pay them back here. “We weren’t as thrilled with some of his decisions his first opportunity”.

“We did some really good things, obviously the things that kill us are turnovers”, Ben said. He is a special player when the ball gets into his hands as well. DeAngelo Williams suffered a sprained ankle in the final regular season game, and his status remains questionable for this one. He completed 16-of-20 passes for 291 yards and four touchdowns in the first half to send the RedHawks to a 35-7 lead on their way to their 13consecutive win. But while Baltimore moved the ball it found the end zone just once, settling for three Justin Tucker field goals.

Even though the Bengals have matched their franchise record for wins – they also won 12 in 1981 and 1988, when they reached the Super Bowl – they know that their season will be judged on what they do in the playoffs.

The game wasn’t one that particularly stood out on the stat sheet, with Jerome Bettis the leading rusher with just 52 yards, but all of them hard-fought, meaningful yards that included a five-yard touchdown, and Ward catching just two passes for 10 yards, one of the two catches going for a five-yard touchdown.