Marvin Lewis’s goal is ‘not to win one, but to win four’ playoff games

Andy Dalton has been the starting quarterback for Marvin Lewis‘s Cincinnati Bengals for two years. Both years they have reached the playoffs, and both years they have bumped in the first round.

This year will be different, or at least the Bengals hope so. It will be in at least one way, as the Houston Texans are not the first round opponent. When asked if the Bengals would consider it an important accomplishment to get over the hump and win a playoff game, Lewis stated even loftier goals (quotes from ProFootballTalk):

"It’s my goal. Not to win one, but to win four.”"

When asked about the losses in previous seasons, Lewis had the following to say:

"I thought we prepared very well a year ago…I thought we prepared very well the year before that.  I’ve thought we’ve had good weeks of preparation and we’ve just got to go put it out there.  We’ve just got to go play.  We’re not going to get any of you to shut up about it until we win.  That’s the way it is and I told them that this morning, flatly, OK? That’s the way it is.  That’s the way it is.”"

The biggest stat in Cincinnati’s favor entering Sunday’s contest against the San Diego Chargers is their record at home this season. They went a perfect 8-0 at Paul Brown Stadium in the 2013 regular season.

Besides Lewis, the pressure will fall on Dalton’s shoulders. We might all be reluctant to trust him in big games, but a match-up with the Chargers and their horrid defense sets him up for as good an opportunity as he could hope for to win one. And to win four, they still have to win one first, whether Lewis likes talking about it or not.