Andy Dalton Says There Is 'No Feud' with J.J. Watt After Texans vs. Bengals

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton emphasized Wednesday there is no conflict between him and Houston Texans defensive superstar J.J. Watt after the Bengals' home loss on Monday Night Football.  

After the Texans' 10-6 win, Watt made some postgame remarks Dalton took issue with, but the Cincinnati signal-caller implied the heat of the moment after defeat got the best of him, per ESPN.com's Coley Harvey:

"

What I did wrong is that I responded to what somebody said that he said. I never even heard his interview. So I don't know the context in which it was said. ... I was responding to what an interviewer tells me he said. My reaction wasn't warranted just because, again, I haven't seen it. I'm not going to watch, I don't care. I've got no ill will toward J.J. There's no feud between me and J.J. We lost the game. He said what he said, and we're moving on. That's in the past now.

"

Watt had taken a shot at Dalton's nickname in an interview with ESPN's Lisa Salters, saying, "Our goal was to come out here and make the Red Rifle look like a Red Ryder BB Gun, and I think we did that," per Harvey.

When someone brought up Watt's comments in the postgame press conference, Dalton fired back.

"I'm disappointed in him because of the integrity of this game," Dalton said, per Harvey. "I have a lot of respect for him. He's a really good player. There are a lot of kids and people who look up to him, and for him to make comments like that, he's just showing that's acceptable to say that kind of stuff."

The Bengals fell to 8-1 after a shocking letdown to Houston at Paul Brown Stadium, as Texans backup QB T.J. Yates relieved a concussed Brian Hoyer to orchestrate the game-winning drive.

Even in the friendly confines of his team's home turf, Dalton couldn't overcome an opponent who's plagued his legacy to date. Houston defeated Dalton and the Bengals in the playoffs following the 2011 and the 2012 seasons, and it appears the Texans still have the 28-year-old's number, even if he's having a career year.

Watt had two tackles and one sack in Monday's victory, which pulled Houston even with the Indianapolis Colts at 4-5 atop the AFC South. Although the Colts have the head-to-head tiebreaker, they are currently without star QB Andrew Luck and may struggle to remain out in front in the NFL's worst division, record-wise.