CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ For the 18th time Sunday, the Bengals were scheduled to face one of their former starting quarterbacks, and the Panthers' Andy Dalton has started half of the games.
Dalton, the Bengals' second-round pick in 2011 (when Joe Burrow was an Athens High School freshman), went in expecting to make his fourth start against his old club on his fourth different team. It's his first since Burrow beat him with a late touchdown pass to Ja’Marr Chase in New Orleans during the LSU national championship reunion game.
Ken Anderson won the first such matchup on Sept. 25, 1983 when he beat Jack Thompon's Buccaneers. In the last QB derby before Sunday, Burrow backup Jake Browning won last season's finale against Cleveland's Jeff Driskel.
Dalton is looking to match Jeff Blake with three wins against the Bengals, a streak cobbled together with the Ravens and Cardinals. On Sunday, Dalton ties Ryan Fitzpatrick with four outings against the Bengals in stints with the Bills, Jets and Dolphins. Fitzpatrick went 2-2 with 10 touchdowns and two interceptions. Dalton is 2-1 with four touchdowns and no interceptions.
SECOND LOOK
After looking at Monday night's film Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo didn't think his unit was confused against Washinton. He said it was more a matter of adjusting to quarterback Jayden Daniels' fast-paced set
"I don't think anybody was confused. I think that it's just a matter of trying to get our right people out there to match what they had out there," Anarumo said last week. "So they substituted. The ref stood over the ball, which is what they're supposed to do, allowed us to get the right people on board, and then I'm going to get the call into the guy. At times certainly could have got it in there a little bit sooner, but I don't think anybody was confused."
SLANTS AND SCREENS
Chase is coming off his first big game of the year and his first multiple-TD game since last year. He admits it's a load off his mind after months of negotiations for a contract extension.
It happened quickly with the 41-yard touchdown strike from Burrow on Monday night's first series.
"Just a big play … It felt like a relief moment for me," Chase said. "I'm having fun finally playing ball and having fun with the guys. I feel like I'm having fun again." …
Chase isn't surprised at the heavy use of the multi-tight end packages early in the season. He doesn't see them relieving the cloud coverage on him, but he sees the benefits.
"We had that in our bag. I feel like this year we have a lot of good tight ends to use in those packages so we don't need to switch it up every time we use them." Chase said. "I think it helps the offense, not my game." …
As expected, Bengals starting defensive tackles B.J. Hill and Sheldon Rankins were inactive with their hamstring injuries, joining tight ends Tanner Hudson and Tanner McLachlan. They only had four inactive because right tackle Trent Brown went on season-ending injured reserve with a knee injury …
