Bengals match best start in their history at

-
0

CINCINNATI — The Bengals have never been better six weeks into a season. Next comes a bye to rest and get several injured players healthy.

The AFC North leaders are in a very good place.

A 34-21 win in Buffalo on Sunday left the Bengals one of five unbeaten teams in the NFL. Their 6-0 mark matches the best start in franchise history — they also did it in 1975 and in 1988, the last time they went to the Super Bowl.

“It’s a great thing to be 6-0, there’s no doubt about it,” left tackle Andrew Whitworth said on Monday. “It’s a great thing to win and have that opportunity to look at our season and say, ‘Man, we have an opportunity to make the playoffs.’ But it doesn’t mean you’ve accomplished anything.”

One more win would accomplish plenty.

The Bengals are in control of the division with a two-game lead over the Steelers (4-2), who are still missing Ben Roethlisberger to a knee injury. After their bye, they play in Pittsburgh with a chance to open a three-game lead.

They still have two games left with Cleveland (2-4), and they host Baltimore (1-5).

With the Bengals, it’s all about winning a playoff game. They haven’t done that since the 1990 season, the sixth-longest postseason drought in NFL history. They’ve reached the playoffs each of the past four seasons and lost their opening game, three times on the road.

The fast start has put them in position to play for home-field advantage during the postseason. The Bengals are the first AFC North team to start 6-0 since realignment in 2002.

“We just have to keep driving the train straight,” receiver Marvin Jones said. “You’ll hear everybody say that. We know what the focus is and that’s something greater. It’s great that we’re 6-0, but we’re chasing something great and we know it.”

The biggest change this season has been at quarterback. Andy Dalton has emerged during his fifth season, growing into one of the NFL’s top passers for the first time. His 116.1 passer rating trails only the Patriots’ Tom Brady, and he leads the league in fourth-quarter passer rating.

The win on Sunday was Dalton’s 22nd on the road, which trails only Dan Marino, Roethlisberger and Matt Ryan — all at 23 — for most by a quarterback during his first five seasons in the Super Bowl era.

Dalton has completed 67 percent of his throws for 1,761 yards with 14 touchdowns and only two interceptions. Brady leads the league with only one interception.

So far, Dalton has been the leader in keeping them perfect.

“It’s huge,” Dalton said. “I mean, you look at the schedule and you see the start week and the bye and this is exactly what you want, to be going undefeated into the bye.”

Notes: Coach Marvin Lewis said several players who were limited by injuries on Sunday should be healthy enough to play against the Steelers after the bye. … The NFL Network apologized to Bengals players who were shown naked in the locker room during a postgame interview on Sunday. A network reporter was interviewing cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones, and the videographer’s angle included the entrance to the shower area. Several players were shown naked in the background. NFL Network Executive Vice President Alex Riethmiller said during a conference call on Monday that the crew didn’t follow network procedures that would have prevented it.

___

Online:

AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/AP_NFL

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Marvin Jones (82) celebrates his touchdown against the Buffalo Bills during the second half of an NFL football game on Sunday, Oct. 18, 2015, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Bill Wippert)
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2015/10/web1_106548838-80744a8ba00b4802ac1e0315fe8a0a86.jpgCincinnati Bengals wide receiver Marvin Jones (82) celebrates his touchdown against the Buffalo Bills during the second half of an NFL football game on Sunday, Oct. 18, 2015, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Bill Wippert)

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton (14) looks to pass while being pressured from Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Kyle Williams (95) during the second half of an NFL football game on Sunday, Oct. 18, 2015, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Bill Wippert)
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2015/10/web1_106548838-7598bc06bf5340aab9a084361907d4c5.jpgCincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton (14) looks to pass while being pressured from Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Kyle Williams (95) during the second half of an NFL football game on Sunday, Oct. 18, 2015, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Bill Wippert)

Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis watches the action from the sideline during the second half of an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, Oct. 18, 2015, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Bill Wippert)
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2015/10/web1_106548838-99cb0e34fd1d451ab92251e0707a65e6.jpgCincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis watches the action from the sideline during the second half of an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, Oct. 18, 2015, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Bill Wippert)

By Joe Kay

AP Sports Writer

NFL Network apologizes for showing naked players

CINCINNATI (AP) — The NFL Network has apologized to Bengals players who were shown naked in the locker room during a postgame interview Sunday in Buffalo.

A network reporter was interviewing cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones after a 34-21 win, and the videographer’s angle included the entrance to the shower area. Several players were shown naked in the background.

NFL Network Executive Vice President Alex Riethmiller said during a conference call on Monday that the crew didn’t follow network procedures that would have prevented it.

“It is a regrettable mistake by a production team, and one where we’ve already done a pretty thorough review of the procedures and processes that were dropped along the way to make sure that it doesn’t happen again,” Riethmiller said.

Left tackle Andrew Whitworth was one of those shown. Whitworth, who is the team’s union representative, said on Monday that the league should restrict media access to prevent it from happening again.

He said the media shouldn’t be allowed in the locker room while players are showering and dressing. He has lobbied for the NFL to have a more restrictive policy.

“It’s just not right,” Whitworth said. “There’s no office, there’s no other situation in America where you have to do that. It’s dated, it’s old and it needs to change.”

Riethmiller isn’t authorized to talk about the league’s media access policies. He apologized “to everyone that was affected, to the players to the organization, to the viewing public, first and foremost.”

Whitworth said an apology alone “won’t be good enough.”

“This is a big issue to me,” he said. “I’ve pressed this issue before with our union and the fact I think it’s wrong. This is my office space. I shouldn’t have to change in it and be in front of people I don’t know or really don’t have any purpose for being near me other than the fact they are interviewing other people.”

Whitworth said there would be more concern if a female athlete was shown undressed.

“If I was a woman, this would be a completely different subject, and it would be a complete firestorm,” Whitworth said. “We can’t always just serve women and everyone else. Men deserve a right too. We have rights. We have privacy. We deserve all the things we want as well.”

Whitworth also noted that a player’s children would have to deal with comments at school and on social media about their father being shown undressed on television.

“It’s wrong,” he said.

No posts to display