Bengals Andy Dalton is AFC’s offensive player of the week

Cincinnati Bengals third-year quarterback Andy Dalton has faced his fair share of criticism this year, but not this week. This week he has been named the AFC’s offensive player of the week for his performance in the 27-24 overtime victory over the Buffalo Bills last Sunday, according to Pro Football Talk.

Dalton went 4-of-4 for 55 yards in overtime and orchestrated a drive that put kicker Mike Nugent in position for the game-winning field goal during the Bengals’ second overtime possession.

Dalton, who hadn’t thrown for a touchdown since Week 3, was 26-of-40 for 337 yards and three touchdowns in the game. After his performance, the Bengals are now 4-2 and look to be in the driver’s seat in the AFC North.

While Dalton had a great performance, his receivers certainly helped him out, as most of his yards came after the catch. While this was a great road victory for the Bengals, Dalton needs to continue to work on his deep passing if he wants to continue to prove critics wrong and make a serious playoff run.

This is the second time Dalton has received the weekly honor.

On the other side of the football, Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Tamba Hali won the AFC’s defensive player of the week award for his 3.5 sacks against the Oakland Raiders.