Dalton was released in April after nine years as the Bengals’ starting quarterback, and now he will be leading the Dallas offense against his old team. That’s the main storyline this week, but here’s a look at five things to know going into the game:
1. A “weird” reunion
Dalton said in a video call with local media Thursday it will be “a little weird” setting up in the visiting locker room and on the visiting sideline at Paul Brown Stadium. His old teammates and coach said the same about seeing him in silver and blue instead of Bengals stripes.
But there’s no doubt this game has significant meaning to Dalton, whose days were numbered when Zac Taylor became coach. Taylor benched him after an 0-8 start last year to see what Ryan Finley could do, just hours before the trade deadline and at a time that Dalton would have liked a chance to move on. Dalton was renamed the starter after three Finley losses, and the Bengals won his first game back and his last at PBS four weeks later.
It was clear the last few weeks of the 2019 season that Cincinnati was going to end up with Joe Burrow as the No. 1 pick and Taylor had no plans to bring him along under a veteran. Now, with Burrow out for the season and third-string quarterback Brandon Allen leading a struggling offense, it’s easy to second-guess that plan.
“There are some things that happened at the end that I wish would have been a little different, but that led me here to Dallas and I’m thankful to be here,” said Dalton, who replaced injured Dak Prescott in Week 5.
On Sunday, Dalton has a chance to remind the Bengals of his past value to the organization – he leads the franchise in completions (2,757), touchdown passes (204), passer rating (87.5) and 300-yard passing games (28).
2. Adjusting on defense
Dalton knows the Bengals’ defense well and how players communicate with each other and coordinator Lou Anarumo, so Cincinnati will have to adjust accordingly.
On the flip side, the Bengals also know Dalton’s tendencies. He gets the ball out pretty quickly and only took one sack against a good Baltimore defense last week, in the second half, even while playing behind a banged up offensive line. Dalton has completed 65 percent of his passes for 1,155 yards and seven touchdowns with six interceptions in seven games. He’s 1-4 in five starts.
The Bengals only have 13 sacks all season but will need to find some ways to affect Dalton.
“They’re well-coached and Andy does some good things for them to like you said, get the ball out fast, but I think it’s just going to start with us stopping the run, and not allowing Ezekiel Elliott to get going,” defensive end Sam Hubbard said. “And then if we can get them in third-and-long passing situations, we’ve got to get to get to the quarterback.”
3. Stopping the run
Dallas has been effective in the running game but certainly is capable of more with Elliott. The three-time Pro Bowler has experienced better seasons than his current total of 784 yards and five touchdowns.
“Yeah, obviously it starts with Ezekiel Elliott,” Hubbard said of his former Ohio State teammate. “I played against him in college. I know what type of player he is. He’s a powerful downhill runner. He can really do damage, and they utilize a lot of 12-personnel, stretches, kick in between the tackles, and they can really gas you if you’re not physical knocking it back and in your gap. Really, he was the league leader for a few years, and he’s got that potential every time he touches the ball.”
Elliott was listed as questionable with a calf injury after being limited in practice this week.
Meanwhile, the Bengals rank 29th against the run – allowing 134.3 yards per game – but believe they have made improvements in the run defense over the last few weeks. Carl Lawson said the improvement doesn’t always show in the stats because of how long the Bengals are on the field defensively with the offense struggling since Burrow’s injury. Opponents have more opportunity to just run the ball in the second halves while playing with leads.
Cincinnati has cornerback Mackensie Alexander (knee) and safety/special team asset Brandon Wilson (hamstring) listed as questionable.
4. Utilizing the ground attack
On the other side of the ball, the Bengals need to figure out a way to get the running game going. They rushed for an average of 50 yards per game over the last three weeks and have topped 100 yards on the ground just four times this season.
Running back Joe Mixon (foot) remains on injured reserve, though he was eligible to come off this week if ready. Taylor said there is a possibility he could return this season but ruled out this week early. He’s been out since exiting in the second half at Indianapolis in Week 6 but wasn’t placed on injured reserve until almost five weeks later.
This week would be a good time to utilize Giovani Bernard more, though. The Cowboys rank last against the run, allowing 156.4 rushing yards per game.
“We’ve matched up against some good teams that have had us schemed up well,” center Trey Hopkins said. “We lost Joe, obviously, which is a huge part because when you can’t balance the pass and the run, things get a little bit more sticky in there, I’ll say. So teams right now are trying to shut down the run and dare us to pass it, pretty much. It’s our job to get the run going.”
The offensive line will be without left tackle Jonah Williams, who went on injured reserve with a knee injury, but gets back guard Alex Redmond from a concussion. Tee Higgins is questionable with a hamstring injury, which hurts the passing game if he can’t go.
5. Quick turnaround
The Cowboys played a rare Tuesday game because of the Ravens’ Week 12 game against Pittsburgh getting pushed back because of COVID. That means Dallas, which lost at Baltimore, had a short week of preparation with only one real practice Friday before their travel day Saturday.
Before that, the Cowboys had a 12-day layoff between games after playing on Thanksgiving and should have had only a 10-day break, but rising COVID cases have created need for more schedule adjustments lately.
“Clearly it’s been a different stretch for us,” Dallas coach Mike McCarthy said. “I think like anything, we’re all going through this. Every team in the league is going through uncertainty. You react and move on accordingly. There’s nothing you can be surprised by now.”
Cincinnati had a quick turnaround in Week 2, coming off a Sunday afternoon opener and preparing for a Thursday night game at Cleveland four days later.
TODAY’S GAME
Cowboys at Bengals, 1 p.m., Fox, 700, 1530, 102.7, 104.7
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