With 4:11 remaining and the Giants leading by one, the Bengals had the ball and their own 30 with the chance to move into position for a game-winning score.
Like our Cincinnati Bengals News Now Facebook page
But Dalton got blasted just after throwing an incompletion on first down before being sacked on second and third down. It was on an overhead replay of the third-down sack when the frame was frozen, showing three Giants on Dalton’s back and one around his legs while all five Bengals offensive linemen – three of whom were on the ground – watched.
“I don’t like that that’s the portrayal of our team,” Bengals left tackle Andrew Whitworth said. “It’s a team game, but it’s also an individual game. Each of us individually has to keep our guy away from the quarterback.”
The Bengals have allowed 28 sacks this season, third most in the league. Dalton was only sacked 20 times in 13 games last year before getting hurt, and 23 times in a full 2014 season.
“We’ve talked about it and tried to figure it out,” Dalton said. “At the end of the day we have to be stout in protection, I have to get the ball out of my hands quicker, and receivers have to get open on time. It’s hard to point at one thing as the biggest difference for us, because different things have happened.”
RELATED: 6-pack of facts about Bengals-Bills game
The Bengals will need to clean up all of those different things this week if they want to keep Dalton upright Sunday against a Buffalo defense that leads the NFL with 30 sacks.
The Bills pass rush is led by one of the biggest surprises in the league this season in Lorenzo Alexander, whose 10 sacks are tied for the NFL lead and are one more than he registered in his previous 10 seasons that were spent with a five different teams.
“Saw it coming all the way,” Bills coach Rex Ryan joked when asked about Alexander, who signed a free-agent contract with Buffalo in April.
“We brought him in to be a role player on defense and a special teams demon,” Ryan added. “Well, he is an unbelievable special teams player, but when given the opportunity (on defense), he’s done a tremendous job.”
MORE: Bengals-Bills series notes
What helps make Alexander so effective is the way defensive coordinator Rob Ryan utilizes him, lining him in various spots, along with the fact that there are a handful of other players who can blitz on any given play.
Five other Bills have recorded multiple sacks this season.
“They’re talented enough to do about anything they want to do scheme wise,” Bengals offensive coordinator Ken Zampese said. “They can sit there and play base defense and be successful and they can do all sorts of things and be successful. They’re very well-coached, they’ve got good skill over there and it will be a big challenge for us.”
The Bengals have allowed at least one sack in all nine games this year. It’s the longest streak since Dalton arrived in 2011. The last time the Bengals allowed sacks in nine consecutive games was the final nine contests of 2009.
“Guys just have to lock in and put their best foot forward technique-wise and everything else,” Whitworth said. “As you’ve been in this league longer, I think more of our guys are going to find that out — guys start to figure you out, how you block and how you do things, and you’d better have an answer for it.
“Some of that’s been a problem, and then there’s been a lot of other things, too,” he added. “So it’s a mixture, and it always is. The reality is we just have to do better as a group and that’s on all of us. Whatever I can do as a leader and captain of this group is to try to find a way to get us to play better each week.”
Injury update: Six of the seven Cincinnati Bengals who were limited at Wednesday's practice were full participants Thursday, including quarterback Andy Dalton (right shoulder), tight end Tyler Eifert (knee) and Rey Maualuga (fibula).
Defensive end Wallace Gilberry, who left Monday’s loss to the Giants with a calf injury, was the only player who did not practice after going on a limited basis Wednesday.
The only new addition to the report was tight end C.J. Uzomah, who was limited with a calf injury.
George Iloka (shin) and James Wright (hamstring) were full go for the second day in a row.
RELATED: Former Bengals player among semifinalists for Hall of Fame
The other players who were limited Wednesday but full Thursday were left guard Clint Boling (shoulder), defensive end Michael Johnson (calf) and wide receiver Brandon LaFell (knee).
For the Bills, wide receiver and return man Brandon Tate, a former Bengal, returned to full participation after missing the team’s last game with a concussion.
Starting defensive tackle Corbin Bryant (shoulder) and quarterback Cardale Jones (illness) did not practice, while linebacker Jerry Hughes (hand), wide receiver Walt Powell (hip) and Robert Woods (foot) and defensive tackle Marcell Dareus (groin) were limited.
About the Author