Undefeated Bengals Changing Script, Winning Games They're Supposed to Win

The Cincinnati Bengals always play down to their competition. The Bengals can't win big games. Andy Dalton falls flat in prime-time games. Those are all the played out narratives you heard coming into the team's Week 9 Thursday Night Football matchup with the Cleveland Browns.

To be fair, the Bengals certainly earned their reputation for shrinking under the spotlight.

A perfect example of this trend came just last year against this same Cleveland team.

The Bengals were supposed to win their Week 10 matchup with the Browns last year—that game also happened to be of the Thursday night variety. Instead, they were thoroughly dominated in every facet of the game and the Browns rewarded them with a 24-3 loss.

In the past, the Bengals used to do this pretty frequently. They'd beat some of the teams they were supposed to beat, they'd surprise us all and beat a team or two that they weren't supposed to, and then they'd blow a game or two where they were overwhelming favorites.

This year's team feels monumentally different. It also looks different.

So, what's different? Well, everything.

From the play of fifth-year quarterback Andy Dalton, to the play of their defense, and the play-calling from offensive coordinator Hue Jackson, we've seen an all-around effort on the part of this team to rewrite the narrative on their ability to put down the teams they should beat.

Last year, the biggest culprit when it came to playing down to the opposition was Dalton.

For an example of this, consider the Dalton's performance in last year's matchup against the Browns, compared to this one.

Game	C/ATT	YDS	TD	INT	Sacks	RTG
Week 10 (2014)	10-of-33	86	0	3	2-14	2.0
Week 9 (2015)	21-of-27	234	3	0	2-15	139.8

This year, Dalton has looked entirely different, and he has been a big part of the turnaround that has set this team out to an 8-0 start.

In games against teams who currently own sub-.500 records, the Bengals are 5-0 with an average margin-of-victory of 11.6 points. Meanwhile, in those same games, Dalton is currently averaging 279 yards per game on 96-of-142 passing with 13 touchdowns, three interceptions and a passer rating north of 120. 

The defense has also come to play in games against sub-.500 competition, surrendering just 19 points per game, despite allowing an average of 358.8 yards in total offense. The unit has lived by more of a bend but don't break mentality, but the Bengals defense has been outstanding against lesser competition.

Tony Avelar/Associated Press

Another part of the game where this Bengals team has shone is in their play-calling.

Second-year offensive coordinator Hue Jackson has put in a great deal of work to make sure that this Bengals team provides opposing defenses different looks throughout their games, and he seems to get even more aggressive when playing against lower-level teams.

From the first drive of the game, it was clear that the Bengals were going to continue to be aggressive in their play-calling. Facing a 4th-and-1 at the Cleveland 13, the Bengals opted to run the ball with Jeremy Hill instead of taking the easy three points.

Hill rewarded the team with a four-yard run, setting up a nine-yard touchdown from Dalton to Tyler Eifert.

Throughout the game, the Bengals remained aggressive, especially on third downs—as noted by ESPN's Coley Harvey.

After taking a 17-10 lead, the Bengals appeared to get a little complacent on offense. It even started to feel like the Browns might creep back into the game—especially when you consider the first-half performance of their QB, Johnny Manziel.

Then, while up just one score in the fourth quarter, Jackson dialed up this gem that helped Mohamed Sanu find paydirt.

That score put the Bengals up by 14.

They followed that up by stifling the Browns on their ensuing drive, where both of the team's star defensive linemen—Carlos Dunlap and Geno Atkins—logged sacks of Manziel on second and third down, respectively.

Dalton and the offense followed up that impressive defensive effort with an eight-play, 58-yard drive that resulted in yet another Eifert touchdown (his third of the game) that extended their lead to 21 points. The Bengals didn't always close out opponents like that, but they have this year. 

Something has changed in the mentality driving this Bengals team, and according to star wideout A.J. Green, the team is playing for "something more" this year.

"Something more" sounds about right, as the Bengals appear to have found another gear this season. That new gear has them well out in front of their AFC North competition—they currently hold a four-game lead in the division, the largest in the NFL—and they're coasting to big victories over anyone and everyone.

Prime-time games have been their undoing in the past, and the Bengals have another one looming—they take on the Houston Texans on Monday Night Football next week. However, with the way this new-look Bengals team has played here in 2015, they're a good bet to move to 9-0 and to continue to run over the rest of the NFL.

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