And Week 4 is again a bad time for the Bengals — they’ve started 0-2 this year and face the Commanders in Week 3 before playing Dalton. Dropping to 1-3 or even 0-4 if Dalton has a revenge game yet again could very well end the season.

“I’ve been around guys. I think Andy Dalton’s got a special character to him and understanding of this offense,” Whitworth recalled saying. “We’ve gotta buckle down and just play with this guy as our quarterback, and we’re gonna be a lot better than you guys think.”

Said Ezekiel Elliott, who watched Andy Dalton step up in Dallas: “It didn’t matter if he was getting hit, taking it in the face. He stayed level-headed.”