Bengals, Andy Dalton Must Build off Confidence of Huge Road Win vs. Saints

Ten days ago, the Cincinnati Bengals suffered a brutal defeat at the hands of the Cleveland Browns, one that elevated the Browns into first place in the AFC North and further cemented the belief that Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton cannot play well in prime time. 

Though that may be true, there is an upside to a poor Dalton performance—his and his team's ability to bounce back in the game that follows. As Cincy Jungle's Josh Kirkendall points out, the Bengals are 5-2-1 in contests following a prime-time loss since 2012:

That happened again Sunday, with the Bengals (6-3-1) defeating the New Orleans Saints (4-6), 27-10. It was a one-sided contest that showed off the Bengals' considerable talent on both offense and defense and, most importantly, puts them back in control of the AFC North's top spot.

Even better is that Dalton followed up his career-worst performance in Week 10—in which he had a quarterback rating of 2.0—with his career best, 143.9. 

He also threw three touchdowns—the first time he's done so all season—had zero interceptions and was sacked just one time.

Wide receiver A.J. Green commented on Dalton's performance, per The Associated Press' Brett Martel: "He's our quarterback for a reason. He's one of the best. We have faith in him. He has faith in himself. There was nothing wrong with him this week."

It helped that the Bengals established a lead early, which resulted in just 22 pass attempts from Dalton. He did complete 16, or 72.7 percent of them, six of which were caught by Green. Green ended the day with 127 yards and a score on those six catches and looked fully recovered from the toe injury that held him out in October.

Tight end Jermaine Gresham caught Dalton's other pair of touchdown passes. The first was a 12-yard score achieved when Gresham fumbled the ball and recovered it in the Saints' end zone.

The second was a one-yard catch in the third quarter to cap off a 50-yard drive. The Bengals were 2-of-3 in the red zone on Sunday, a major improvement from their Week 10 performance (0-of-1).

However, the Bengals' offensive star was rookie running back Jeremy Hill, who took on the bulk of the team's rushing duties with Giovani Bernard sidelined with hip and shoulder ailments. The Bengals rushed collectively 36 times, with 27 carries for Hill. Hill ended the day with 152 yards, with a long of 62, and averaged 5.6 yards per carry. 

Though he had no touchdowns, his ability to move the chains helped the Bengals nurse their lead and allowed Dalton time to throw. 

The defense also held up its end of the bargain. Though Saints quarterback Drew Brees had 255 passing yards and was not sacked, the secondary in particular was able to curtail his receivers. Brees had no completion longer than 17 yards, and dangerous tight end Jimmy Graham was held to three catches for 29 yards with a long of 13.

Rogelio Solis/Associated Press

The Bengals also kept the Saints from running the ball. New Orleans rushed 26 times but netted just 75 yards, with Mark Ingram leading the way with 23 carries for 67 yards.

This bounce-back performance couldn't have come at a better time for the Bengals. Instead of wallowing in their terrible defeat against Cleveland, they proved to have a short memory—Dalton in particular. This game looked more like the Bengals in their natural state, with Week 10 being the anomaly.

The Bengals have six regular-season games remaining. Three are in the division, with the Pittsburgh Steelers ahead twice and the Browns once. Five of those six matchups are against teams with records of .500 or better. Four are on the road. 

Week	Opponent	Record*
12	@ Texans	5-5
13	@ Buccaneers	2-8
14	vs. Steelers	6-4
15	@ Browns	6-4
16	vs. Broncos	7-3
17	@ Steelers	6-4

Though New Orleans and the NFC South as a whole are not dangerous this year, the Saints had just one home loss heading into Week 11 dating back to the 2013 season. They are not an easy out on their home turf, even though they were a mere 4-5 before Sunday's game. 

The Bengals' ability to travel into a hostile dome against a team that knows how to protect its home turf is a good sign of improvement. This needs to be a springboard for the Bengals' final playoff push, especially with two more road games ahead before they next play in the comforts of Paul Brown Stadium. 

After such a huge loss to the Browns, the Bengals needed a way to build their confidence. Manhandling the Saints on Sunday should do much to advance that effort, especially with it being such a strong team win.

This is who the Bengals need to be if they are to handle their remaining schedule, hold on to the AFC North's top spot and find themselves in the postseason for a fourth straight year. They were capable of doing so on Sunday. Now the real test is whether they can build on this win.