‘The struggle is real’ for Andy Dalton, AJ McCarron

The Cincinnati Bengals are 4-0, and most out there will offer up one simple word when they see that.

Instead the team has looked anything like what they were projected to be. The two teams from Ohio have not made it to the AFCCG since 1988 (Bengals) and 1989 (Browns).

Dalton is in complete command. I like this football team. The running game will dominate the game and the Bengals will win easily.

While the Seahawks defense has that suffocating stat, Dalton can hit them with the number that they’ve trailed for just 1:58 all year.

The Bengals have been playing exceedingly well. More frustrating than the constant changes, of course, have been the stretches of stability when “stability” meant “staying bad”. The 2007 New England Patriots were just fine, for example.

In this breakdown, I will start with the offense. The rushing attack of Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard combined for 102 yards and four touchdowns.

This is a team that was supposed to be a playoff contender in 2015. In the receiving end, Mohamed Sanu had 84 yards in four receptions while AJ Green added 82 yards in seven receptions.

“It was penalties, it was negative plays, a sack, and all of a sudden you’ve put yourself in second-and-17 and it’s going to be tough”, said Smith, who was 31 of 45 for 386 yards. Yes, you read that right, dead last. His pre-snap reads seem so much more spot-on than in years past. Meanwhile, Chris Long is on pace for his third double-digit sack season.

Charcandrick West appeared to move ahead of Knile Davis at backup running back.

The quarterback: Now in his 11th season and third with the Chiefs, Alex Smith is taking a beating in the backfield. The difference in Dalton here from past years is that throw was made before he cleared. He has been sacked just two times, tying for the fewest in the league.

The offense hasn’t looked good either, and a lot of that falls on the shoulders of the offensive line. Jackson has opened his playbook of tricks this season.

FG#1 – The Chiefs had first-and-goal at the 10-yard line, but gained only six yards on three plays and had fourth-and-goal from the 4-yard line.

“The Seahawks are a well-coached group”, said Lewis. “We’ll get our turns, we’ll keep battling for it. When that happens, they’ll come in bunches and hopefully we can get something going this weekend”.

“It’s like night and day”, defensive coordinator Paul Guenther said of Atkins’ performance this season. On the other side of the ball, Cincinnati held KC’s vaunted pass rush to zero sacks.

On Seattle’s next drive, Jodat fumbled the ball again, giving the Bengals another chance to put points on the board. Smith has gone down more than any other quarterback.

“We’re moving backward and we have got to take care of that”, Reid said after the game. Carlos Dunlap leads the team with 3.5. Choreography aside, Peko and the Bengals defense pestered Smith often, particularly in the red zone Sunday, forcing them to settle for seven field goals with no touchdowns. “He’s had a fantastic four or five years since we’ve played him, so you have to give him all the respect”. And don’t overlook the impressive emergence of nose tackle Jaye Howard, who’s been a disruptive force up front, excelling in a contract year.

This is a complete team. The Bengals have scored 121 points and given up only 77 on the season. Super good? It’s not that much of a stretch. Of course, those first two games were on the road and included a tilt with Aaron Rodgers and the last two were at home and included Jimmy Clausen.