The Cincinnati Bengals just can’t escape former quarterback Andy Dalton.
Barring something dramatic over the course of the next week, the Bengals will encounter Dalton as the starting quarterback of the Carolina Panthers after that team’s shocking announcement that it was benching former No. 1 pick Bryce Young.
This means the Bengals will see Dalton for the fourth time in five years:
- Back in 2020, they lost to his Dallas Cowboys, 30-7, while he threw two touchdowns.
- In 2021, they lost to Dalton’s Chicago Bears, 20-17, while he threw one score.
- In 2022, they defeated his New Orleans Saints 30-26 despite his touchdown pass.
Dalton’s penchant for popping up at a bad time for his former team is a little uncanny, especially considering he’s been in the NFC, not the AFC.
And Week 4 is again a bad time for the Bengals — they’ve started 0-2 this year and face the Commanders in Week 3 before playing Dalton. Dropping to 1-3 or even 0-4 if Dalton has a revenge game yet again could very well end the season.
The good news? The Bengals looked much better against the Chiefs in Week 2. Dalton or not, Joe Burrow and Co. will merely need to keep that trend going and not play down to the competition and the former quarterback’s presence could be a footnote on the turnaround journey.
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