In A Final Gift To The Bengals, Andy Dalton Gave Cincinnati A HOF Offensive Lineman

Scott Taetsch. Getty Images.

I’ve now had almost 24 hours to reflect on the Cowboys convincing 30-7 victory over a two win Cincinnati Bengals team playing without their star quarterback, and you know what?

I’m still pissed we won.

I mean, I guess winning is preferred to losing, but in the grand scheme of things? Losing a potential stud 12 year starter who can anchor an offensive line like Sewell will (likely for the Bengals now) is a hard pill to swallow, especially in a season that’s already lost.

And the fact that this pick is now going to the team the Cowboys JUST beat also makes the wound sting a touch more. There was no reason to win that game except for posterity’s sake and I tell you what… Cowboy fans are not in the mood for posterity. 

But now that we’re digesting this win, lets break down some reasons to be encouraged for the future. 

The Cowboys turned a close game into a blowout which is astounding given its something they are known this season for having done to them versus the other way around. They led wire to wire and that hasn’t happened all season. Their defense that has been abysmal actually forced MULTIPLE turnovers. Aldon Smith had a 75 yard fumble return for a TD which is the first time that’s happened in over 20 years. Tyrone Crawford, he of the double hip surgery, had two sacks. Even Jayon Smith seems to have remembered how to play football again (8 solo tackles). 

On offense, Dalton was VERY efficient, with six Cowboys having 2 or more catches, meaning he distributed the rock very well. Dalton also avoided the interception bug that he’s so well known for (even though Jessie Bates dropped an interception) which is also a positive. The Cowboys haven’t had a backup win more than 2 games since 1975. 

Look at the adoration between Andy and his wife. These two may be the only humans alive who actually loved living in Cincinnati. So why should it be a shocker that his last parting gift to the most snake bit of all football franchises was to hand them Penei Sewell, the OL I’ve been dreaming about being a Cowboy all year? Andy Dalton. Once a Bengal, always a Bengal.

On the line, Terence Steele WASN’T awful. 

For a turnstyle who was the second lowest ranked OL in the entire league, he’s becoming much better at keeping Andy Dalton off of his back. 

Lots of things to build on. But there are also as per usual glaring issues that we saw as well. 

Zeke continues to basically suck. He had one 26 yard run, and then 11 other carries for 22 yards. Yikes. 2 yards a carry for the money he’s making is BRUTAL. Pollard wasn’t much better (11 for 39) but then, he’s also not making the GNP of some Latin American nations either and he had a 60 yard KO return. They need to get Zeke sorted out STAT or there’s big problems on the horizon.

Mike McCarthy and company NEEDED this win. They needed it to keep even a shred of their dignity as a coaching staff given that this team has given up the most points in franchise history this season and at some points was not even putting out a product good enough that NBC would put it on in prime time. 

And to be honest, they still haven’t. But it’s getting somewhat closer to something that looks like football and even though it was just against the Brandon Allen led Bengals, I had this chalked up as an L last week so it absolutely was a surprising victory. 

Here’s where a cynical me might say Mikey Mac and crew are so inept they can’t even tank properly. I won’t say that, though. I might be thinking it, probably for the next 12-15 years as Sewell becomes the 21st century version of Anthony Munoz, but I’m not going to say it out loud.

Bring on the 49ers. Go Cowboys. Yay.