Andy Dalton Sneaks Cincinnati Bengals Past Baltimore Ravens
By Adam Hughes
Oct 26, 2014; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton (14) celebrates after defeating the Baltimore Ravens 27-24 at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
It’s not often in life that you can atone for your mistakes, especially within a couple of hours, but Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton had that opportunity today against the Baltimore Ravens, and he made the most of it. After fumbling and throwing an interception, both of which led to fourth-quarter scores for the Ravens, Dalton executed a quarterback sneak with 58 seconds left to give the Bengals a 27-24 win.
The touchdown was Dalton’s second of the afternoon, as he also scored on a 1-yard sneak with 10:01 remaining in the first quarter to open the scoring.
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In between, Dalton was up and down, completing 21 of 28 passes for 266 yards, with the aforementioned pick to linebacker C.J. Mosley. Wide receiver Mohamed Sanu was the offensive standout, grabbing five balls for 125 yards.
Despite giving up 24 points, though, the real star(s) of this game was the Bengals’ defense, the target of so much criticism in recent weeks. After yielding more than 500 yards in two of the three previous games, and more than 400 in all of those contests, Cincinnati held Baltimore to 294 yards of total offense today.
In terms of yards allowed, this was the D’s best showing of the season.
The defensive showing included two interceptions, a sack and a forced fumble.
Probably most significantly, the Ravens could only muster 107 yards on the ground, and if quarterback Joe Flacco had not broken loose for a couple of scrambles, the Bengals would have held an opponent under the century mark for the first time since Week 2.
With the win, the Bengals reclaim first place in the AFC North, and they swept the Ravens for the first time since 2009. The victory could be costly, though, as running back Giovani Bernard left the game in the fourth quarter with a hip injury.