Bengals on Red alert with AFC North in the fold
bengals.com

CINCINNATI-Andrew Whitworth says Andy Dalton is the symbol of his team and on Sunday, Dalton offered another franchise quarterback performance to help the Bengals prove they can win the crunch-time games with elite performances by their best players.

With whispers turning into dull roars about Cincinnati's playoff legitimacy in the wake of the terrible 13 minutes in Pittsburgh, Dalton vaporized the Vikings with a career-best passer rating of 136.5 as the Bengals raised their record to 3-1 in December and to 7-2 the last two Decembers with a 42-14 victory that gave Cincinnati the AFC North title.

Like Carson Palmer, Dalton has a division title in his third season. Like Kenny Anderson he's got back-to-back 10-win seasons. Like Boomer Esiason, he's on the verge of an unbeaten season at home.

"He symbolizes what this team is," Whitworth said. "People can talk about this team and what we can't accomplish and we keep bouncing back and accomplishing it and next week is no different. We've got an opportunity to seal up everything we want."

The Bengals need to beat the Ravens at PBS next Sunday at 1 p.m., and the Patriots have to lose to the Bills in order to get a playoff bye and the No. 2 seed. And the Bengals have become a team no one wants to play at home, where they are relaxed, dominant and 7-0. After zipping four touchdown passes Sunday, Dalton has thrown 18 touchdowns and just five interceptions at home in engineering 34 points per game.

"This is the most relaxed we've been at this point in the season," Whitworth said. "I really think this team is mature to the point that it realizes that last week was exactly what it was: a crazy first quarter. We know what we are and how good we are and if we play like this we're a tough team to beat."

Relaxed? Dalton is playing with patting-the-ball-in-the-pocket confidence as he proves if he is protected and receivers get open, he'll deliver the ball quickly and deadly enough to get through the big games. With no one touching him in the first three quarters, Dalton converted six third downs of at least seven yards to four different receivers and his 16-yard arrow to tight end Jermaine Gresham down the wide open middle of the Vikings Cover 2 on third-and-10 blew it open at 28-7 just before the two-minute warning of the first half.

"I've got to give him the game ball today," said wide receiver A.J. Green, who caught two of the touchdowns. "He's playing his butt off, having fun."

None of Dalton's receivers had 100 yards and neither running back reached 25 yards rushing. But Dalton was at his point guard best. With the Vikings forced to start old friend Shaun Prater for just the second time in his career at cornerback and Green and Marvin Jones taking turns burning cornerback Chris Cook, Green rolled up 97 yards and Jones's 85 yards included gargantuan third-down conversions of 18 and 21 yards.