Chris Slone
CINCINNATI, Ohio — Andy Dalton threw for 321 yards and the Bengal defense allowed seven Cairo Santos field goals as Cincinnati improved to 4-0 after beating the Kansas City Chiefs 36-21 Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium.
The Bengals have not reached the quarter mark of the NFL season with an unblemished record since the 2005 season, a feat that hasn’t gone unnoticed by current members of the team.
“(It’s) real special,” Adam Jones said. “I’m excited for the team and for this city.”
Bengals coach Marvin Lewis is proud of is team’s accomplishment but knows there’s no time to get complacent.
“It’s good. We’ve handled the task at hand each and every week,” Lewis said. “Now we’ve got to get our marbles shined up again and get ready to go again. We’ve got another big game next week.”
Complacency wasn’t in the Bengals’ playbook Sunday as Cincinnati came out of the gates like a race horse. The Bengals covered 160 yards in 14 plays on their first two drives, capping them both off with touchdowns — the first one by Jeremy Hill from 8-yards out and the second from Giovanni Bernard who scored from 13 yards away.
“It was big,” Lewis said. “Obviously the touchdowns are huge. (Dalton) was doing a nice job of getting us in the right plays, guys were making the catches and receptions, and great protection today by the guys up front.”
In the third quarter, Dalton completed his ninth touchdown pass of the season — a 55-yard strike to Brandon Tate. Last year, Dalton didn’t throw his ninth touchdown until week 11.
“He’s doing a good job of distributing the ball,” Lewis said. “It’s always helpful when guy’s get to the right spot.”
As a unit, the offense averaged 445 yards or 8.9 yards per play.
“Guys were just out here making plays whenever their number was called,” Green said. “They played a lot of man-to-man and I feel like we’ve got a lot of guys who can beat man-to-man. We’ve got a lot of guys who create mismatches … “
On the defensive side of the ball, despite allowing 461 yards, the Bengals held the Chiefs to seven field goals, which is the most field goals an opponent has ever made against Cincinnati and ties an NFL record for field goals made in a game.
“It wasn’t pretty,” Dre Kirkpatrick said. “But we just went out there and played hard, and it wasn’t pretty at times but I loved the effort that everybody was giving. There’s a lot that we’ve got to cleanup, even on my half. I really couldn’t tackle today because I was banged up with a sore shoulder and both of my wrist. We’ve just got to clean it up this week, ice it up and be ready to go next week.”
Kansas City rarely had an opportunity to score touchdowns because of five sacks and one forced fumble by the Bengal defense.
“Coverage and rush always have to work together and when you have a day like that, you always have to feel good about it,” Lewis said. “Holding an offense to field goals is good, especially when your offense is scoring touchdowns,” Lewis said. “And that’s the difference in the football game today.”
Cincinnati will remain home next week as the Seattle Seahawks pay a visit to Paul Brown Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled at 1 p.m.
“We know they’ve got Jimmy (Graham),” Kirkpatrick said. “That’s pretty much who the passing offense runs through. But we’ve already played that guy before. We’re familiar with him and he’s a great player. So, we’ve just got to minimize him and contain their backs.”
Injuries
Dre Kirkpatrick left with a wrist injury but returned to the game.
“I feel alright, it’s going to take a lot of ice,” Kirkpatrick said. “I’m waiting on the X-ray right now, just got to play it by ear. Don’t feel like nothing too serious. Just feels like a sprain or something like that.”
Adam Jones (groin) and Vincent Rey (undisclosed) left and did not return.
Reach Chris Slone at 740-353-3101, ext 1930, or on Twitter @crslone.
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