{The Ultimate ANDY DALTON Mega Thread}

[The Caped Crusader]

Write up on Dalton from BleacherReport (notably not a big fan of their posts). Has him cracking the Top 10 for the first time this season with the following post:

Quote:
Frank Victores/Associated Press
Last Week: 14
Through most of the 2017 season, the Bengals have played it safe with Andy Dalton. He came into Monday night with just one 300-plus-yard game and just two where he's thrown for three or more touchdowns. It's worked to a point, as Dalton hadn't thrown an interception in his previous five games and managed a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 7-0 in Cincinnati's three prior games, two of which were wins. In Cincinnati's 23-20 loss to the Steelers, Dalton did about what he's done all season, completing 21 of 36 passes for 234 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Dalton hit receiver A.J. Green on a 15-yard touchdown pass with 35 seconds left in the first quarter to put the Bengals up 17-0 with the extra point. And then the Bengals offense shut down for all intents and purposes, while the Steelers picked up the pace. In the end, Chris Boswell's 38-yard field goal as time expired gave Pittsburgh a 23-20 win, while the Bengals fell to 5-7 on the season.
Dalton looked quite good in the first half, connecting with Green on two touchdown passes, and the duo would've had a third score with 7:50 left in the third quarter on a deep throw were it not for a highly questionable holding call on running back Giovani Bernard. That penalty took the ball from the Cincinnati 39 to the 29. Though Dalton was able to connect with Brandon LaFell for 27 yards a few plays later on a well-placed sideline throw, that drive ended in a field goal. It was the last scoring the Bengals would do on the day, while the Steelers ran up 13 points and got the win in the fourth quarter.
This was a heartbreaking loss for the Bengals and a very rough game for both teams, as several players suffered serious injuries in what was a brutal contest. Dalton played well enough for the Bengals to win, but the Steelers solved his defense in the second half, and that was the difference.