Cincinnati Bengals poised to control AFC North

The core of this group of Cincinnati Bengals led by Andy Dalton, A.J. Green, Geno Atkins, Jermaine Gresham and Reggie Nelson have never tasted what it’s like to be alone atop the AFC North.

Yes, the Bengals haven’t led the North outright since the 2009 NFL season, the last time they ultimately won the division. Even in professional sports, there’s sometimes a mental hurdle in breaking through to do something as trivial as leading your division in Week 6.

But after gutting out an overtime win over the Buufalo Bills Sunday, the Bengals were able to break through and take control of the division, and they’ve shown there’s no reason they should be on top when the regular season concludes.

"“We can’t worry about what other teams are going to do. We have to write our own destiny for lack of better terms,” Cornerback Terence Newman said. “If we go out and win football games everything will be all right. We have to keep believing in each other, plugging away.“For us to come out and get our first road victory against an AFC opponent it’s a big one and a tough-fought one. We went into overtime; it should give us confidence we can win close games down the stretch. I think it’s just a confidence-booster for everybody.”"