4: Week 14 vs. the Cleveland Browns
We kick things up a notch here with this spike play from Week 14. The Bengals and the Cleveland Browns have a bit of an instate rivalry going, even when both teams are struggling. In this contest, we get two different spikes from Dalton, and this first one comes with about 35 seconds remaining in the game:
The situation is important here when grading this spike play. The Browns have a 27-16 lead and the Bengals are out of timeouts, but there is a chance that Cincinnati could tie this game up in the closing seconds. They could get a long-range field goal, recover the onside kick, and tack on a Hail Mary (complete with a two-point conversion) to erase this 11-point deficit.
Look, this isn’t Mission Difficult, Mr. Hunt, it’s Mission Impossible.
So after a 24-yard completion to John Ross to get the ball down to the Cleveland 45-yard line, Dalton and the Bengals stop the clock with a spike.
Situation: 6 points. Again, there is a chance Cincinnati can come back here.
Decisiveness: 6 points. Dalton and the rest of the Bengals get right to the line here and get the ball spiked.
Style: 3 points. There was a chance to tack on some bonus style points here, but Dalton – after using a one-handed spike with the right hand – goes to catch the ball off the turf with his left. He misses, and as such gets docked a few points.
Result: 6 points. On the next play, Dalton hits Eifert for a 17-yard gain to give Zac Taylor the chance to go for a field goal and set up the potential FG/TD/2PT miracle tie to force overtime. Not too shabby.
Total Score: 18 points.