Who is the face of the franchise and who is the unsung hero of the franchise?

[CJD]

The face of the franchise, in my mind, is the player that people think of when you say the team name.

And for the Bengals, that is absolutely, unequivocally, Andy Dalton.

For better or for worse, EVERYONE knows Andy Dalton. And he has become a symbol of this team. He is a great, talented QB who chokes when there is anything real on the line.
Just like every single Bengals employee.

As for the unsung hero, it is Reggie Nelson. It kind of has to be Reggie Nelson. He has held our secondary together ever since 2010. Injuries and free agency losses at CB, Crocker and Illoka at SS and the LB corp shifting every single game, due to injuries.

He is really the only constant on the backend of our defense. Illoka looks like he will be as well, but he's only started for the last 2 years or so.

Nelson is one of our best defensive players, but he is never even mentioned in terms of top safeties in the league. It's terrible. He is an all pro free safety, easy.