The winless Cincinnati Bengals turned back to Andy Dalton in search of their first victory of the season, and the veteran quarterback delivered in a big way with a 22-6 trouncing of the New York Jets, who had entered on a three-game win streak.
"You work all year to win. You prepare each week to win, and for it to finally pay off, it is a big relief," Dalton said, via the team's official website. "We got our first win of the season. We got Zac (Taylor) his first win as a head coach."
The Bengals entered the day with an 0-11 record in Zac Taylor's first season. Notching his first win finally gets that monkey off the coach's back.
"How do I feel? I can't even describe it! You know, good... I feel really good," Taylor said. "It's emotional. You go through it with all these guys. To finally get it, it does feel really good."
Cincinnati benched Dalton during the Week 9 bye, preferring to evaluate rookie Ryan Finley for a spell. After three straight losses, the Bengals turned back to the veteran in hopes of avoiding an 0-16 season.
"This one feels good. Knowing that I was going to be starting again this week, I wanted to attack each day," Dalton said. "I wanted to give my teammates confidence in me, again. I was confident in our plan this week going into the game. Also, we had one of the best weeks of practice that we've had this year. I just had a feeling that we were going to get this one done.
"Regardless of all the other circumstances that have been circling, the fact that I was back out here starting again ... I want to win every time I'm on the field. We were able to get it done today, and I felt we played well in all three phases."
The Bengals' win also made history for the Jets. Gang Green became the first team in NFL history to lose to two teams 0-7-or-worse entering their matchup in the same season, after previously losing to the then-0-7 Miami Dolphins in Week 9.
Dalton also made his own history in Cincy, passing Ken Anderson as the franchise's all-time leader in touchdown passes with 198, and setting the team record for completions.
"You don't think about it when you start your career," Dalton said of the records. "Obviously, I've been here a long time. It means a lot to me to have the opportunity to break Ken's (Anderson) records. I've known him a long time, and it also shows my consistency here for a long time. I've been lucky to have played on some good offenses here. It is cool to break those records, and it gives me bragging rights now."
Bragging rights and the win.
Now the Bengals can focus their efforts on the future QB, who fans will hope can one day top Dalton's records, and avoid any more 0-11 starts to a season.
