CINCINNATI Rookie quarterback Andy Dalton missed practice Wednesday with the flu, leaving backup Bruce Gradkowski to run the Cincinnati Bengals offence at Paul Brown Stadium.

Coach Marvin Lewis said Dalton should be back on Thursday. He’s expected to play Saturday at Houston’s Reliant Stadium, where he’s never lost. The second-round pick grew up in the suburbs and played two games there in high school and another for TCU.

The Bengals (9-7) will be trying to get their first playoff win since the 1990 season when they play the Houston Texans. Reliant Stadium has a retractable roof, so weather won’t be an issue. The challenge is to stay healthy until then.

The temperature was -5 C with a wind chill of -10 C when they hit the field Tuesday. On Tuesday night, rookie receiver A.J. Green from Georgia tweeted: “It was so cold at practice today … I couldn’t feel my toes.”

It was somewhat better Wednesday, with a temperature of 2 C and a wind chill of -2 C when practice ended. Players wore hoods under their helmets to try to stay warm.

Asked if it was the coldest weather he’d ever had for practice, Green said, “Oh yeah, definitely, by far. By far.”

Temperatures around 4 C are forecast for Thursday’s practice.

The Bengals are the only northern team without their own covered practice field either in use or under construction. They have the right under their stadium lease to cover one of their adjacent practice fields, but would have to pay for it.

The University of Cincinnati approached the NFL team about jointly building a bubble-covered field when Brian Kelly was coach, but the Bengals declined. The university then built a practice field with a removable bubble on campus. The Bengals could rent the bubble for four hours at a standard rate of US$2,500.

The concern Wednesday was getting Dalton healthy and ready for one more cold-weather practice followed by a trip home. He grew up in the Houston suburb of Katy and attended games at Reliant as a fan.

“You get a chance to play in Reliant Stadium as a high school kid, it’s a really cool thing,” Dalton said Tuesday. “That’s how Texas high school (football) is. You get to play in NFL stadiums.”

For the first time since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, a playoff game will feature two rookie quarterbacks. T.J. Yates, a fifth-round pick, took over after Matt Schaub and Matt Leinart got hurt and led the Texans to the playoffs.

Yates led a winning 80-yard touchdown drive in the final three minutes for a 20-19 victory at Paul Brown Stadium on Dec. 11. He and Dalton talked on the field afterward.

“It was a big, game-winning drive for him,” Dalton said. “It’s good to see rookies — my class — doing well.

“It was unfortunate that it was against us.”

The overriding question with a rookie quarterback is how he’ll handle playoff pressure. Dalton has the experience advantage over Yates because he won the starting job during training camp and started all 16 games. Yates started the last five games.

“I have all the confidence in Andy,” cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones said. “Andy is a well-composed guy, doesn’t get rattled by too much.

“He likes to win and likes the pressure on him.”

Dalton looked like a rookie during a 31-24 loss at Baltimore on Nov. 20, throwing three interceptions that helped the Ravens get ahead 31-14 in the fourth quarter. He was much more careful over the last six games, throwing five touchdowns and only one interception in 184 attempts.

During the loss to Houston, Dalton and the offence had a miserable second half, blowing a 16-3 lead. They managed 81 yards in the second half, including only nine yards on 14 rushes. Dalton fumbled on the second play of the half to start Houston’s comeback and was 7-of-11 passing for 77 yards after halftime.

Dalton has been average overall much of the time, but that’s been good enough to get Cincinnati into the playoffs. Four times he’s led the Bengals to victories with fourth-quarter comebacks.

“I don’t think pressure’s really been an issue for him,” offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth said. “The greatest competitors are the guys that want to win.

“They want the heat. That’s a good thing — it drives them. I think Andy’s one of those guys.”

NOTES: Defensive end Frostee Rucker (shoulder) also was among those missing practice. Tailback Cedric Benson (foot), centre Kyle Cook (foot) and safety Chris Crocker (knee) were limited. … Cincinnati has played Houston only one other time in the post-season, beating the Oilers 41-14 after the 1990 season. That was the Bengals’ last playoff win. They’re 0-2 since.

The Associated Press

When the Cincinnati Bengals travel into Reliant Stadium to take on the Houston Texans, they have more than a few reasons to be confident. I might even go as far as picking the Bengals to win this game.

Much has been made about the Bengals inability to beat a good team —they’re a whopping 0-7 against those within the playoff field. While those numbers do raise some alarm, they’re not as bad as they look on the surface. With the exception of their Week 13 game in Pittsburgh, they haven’t lost a game by more than eight points. Additionally, they don’t have any “bad” losses —losing to teams they shouldn’t (Denver might be an exception, though it’s hard to make that argument when they’re in the playoffs). I’ll readily admit that you need to be able to take down better teams, but the Bengals clearly show where they fall on the quality spectrum. They’ve probably been one of the best teams to set your watch to. They win when they should and lose when they should. They lost to the Baltimore Ravens by seven and eight points, respectively. They lost to the Denver Broncos by two and the San Francisco 49ers by five. Their other game against Pittsburgh found them losing by only seven. Lastly, they lost to the Houston Texans by one. This is a team that can compete.

The Texans, on the other hand, do have a few mind boggling losses. That being said, they also have some impressive wins —Pittsburgh and Atlanta specifically. However, they also carry losses to the Carolina Panthers and Indianapolis Colts. You can throw in the Oakland Raiders if you want as well. I’ll give a couple of those teams the benefit of being pretty decent, but they aren’t teams the Houston Texans should lose to. The Titans game gets a free pass because most of the starting Texans were on the bench. What’s more alarming for the Texans is their current three-game losing streak they’re riding into the playoffs —Carolina, Indy, and Tennessee. Being the Texans first ever trip to the playoffs, I’m sure the Bengals are going to run into a raucous crowd at Reliant Stadium. If Dalton and company can’t control that, it could get ugly.

What makes this game difficult is that you have two rookie quarterbacks. T.J Yates hasn’t thrown a touchdown in two-plus games and following Yates’ injury against the Titans, we don’t know if that shoulder will affect his performance. When you look at the numbers of the two teams, they’re relatively even. The slight edge goes to the Texans in most categories, but that also factors in the gaudy offensive numbers they were putting up prior to Matt Schaub’s injury. As it stands now, I think the game is pretty even.

Andy Dalton doesn’t give much more confidence. Despite Dalton having a stellar rookie season, you don’t often like the idea of rookie quarterbacks in the playoffs. In fact, the research I’ve found is that no rookie quarterback has ever won a Super Bowl. That’s an alarming trend for both Bengals and Texans fans.

We don’t need to talk about the Super Bowl yet. Yates and Dalton both have things to take care of before we start thinking about that. While I think it’s a virtual toss up, I think I like Cincinnati.

Bengals 20 Texans 17

Brian is a lifelong NFL fan, specifically of the Chicago Bears, having lived in Illinois his entire life and having followed the NFL throughout.

Sources

Bengals/Texans Preview

Bengals Schedule

Texans Schedule

T.J Yates Stats

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The Blue Jackets put to rest a slew of ugly numbers that followed them around like toe fungus, beating the Dallas Stars 4-1 in American Airlines Center.

Which of the following streaks was most unsettling, most in need of being expunged from the Blue Jackets’ stat sheet:

A: No regulation road wins this season (17 games), and none dating back to last March 12 in Carolina (23 games)

B: Eight straight blown leads after being up through two periods

C: No road wins this season for goaltender Steve Mason (0-8-0)

D: All of the above

The correct answer of course is ‘D.’

Mason had a season-high 36 saves, 18 of them in the first period. Rick Nash had his second two-goal game of the season, and John Moore had the first two assists of his NHL career. Antoine Vermette and Fedor Tyutin (empty-net) also scored.

There. That wasn’t so hard, was it?

“We talked about being more positive, more upbeat,” Mason said. “And the guys were able to do that tonight. I have to give a lot of credit to Umby (winger R.J. Umberger); he did a really good job of keeping guys up and positive during that (second) intermission.

 

“We know we can be a team that can close out games. There’s no reason we can’t. This one here is something we can build off now.”

The game was not without a setback for the Blue Jackets, though. Defenseman James Wisniewski suffered a fractured left ankle and will be out indefinitely pending more tests on Friday in Columbus. (See previous Puck-rakers post.)

But a win away from Nationwide Arena — in regulation, after leading through two periods, and in front of the stellar play of Mason — seemed like a major accomplishment for a team that has trouble taking baby steps this season.

“After all the things that have kind of backfired on us the last few weeks here … that was a great 20-man effort,” Blue Jackets coach Scott Arniel said. “From getting an early lead, to building on that lead, and playing very well in the third period, it was a good effort and a good feeling all around.”

 

Mason put it more bluntly: “It was good to hear music in the visitor’s room after the game for a change.”

The Blue Jackets led 1-0 only 3:50 into the game. Rookie Ryan Johansen carried the puck behind the net, feathered a sweet pass across the slot to Nash and celebrated as Nash fired the puck into a yawning net.

The Stars responded — actually, the poured it the freak on for most of the first period — to make it 1-1 at 8:57 of the first. Stars forward Vernon Fiddler, who once tormented the Jackets as a member of the Nashville Predators, fired a rebound home off Mason left leg.

Early in the second, Moore — a brilliant skater — floated sideways from atop the left circle to the high slot and loosed a wrister than Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen left on the doorstep. Vermette gathered it and crammed it under Lehtonen’s glove for a 2-1 lead.

If Vermette’s goal was big, Nash’s at 6:09 of the third was huge. Make that, Hyoooodge! Aided by a Johansen screen, Nash scored on a nifty wrister from the right circle to make it 3-1. For a club that has treated third period’s like first dates, it was much-needed breathing room.

The Blue Jackets killed back-to-back penalties late in the third (Boll, charging at 14:05, and Nikitin, hooking at 3:46) before Tyutin scored into an empty net with 2.0 remaining.

Side dishes:

– Mason was 0-8-0 on the road this season with an .839 save percentage and 4.80 goals-against average before tonight. He had lost 11 straight on the road (0-9-2) dating back to that March 12 game in Carolina. I remember that game, how it was seasonably warm and how Hurricanes fans were enjoying a tailgate before faceoff. Never occurred to me that it was have such meaning nearly half a season later.

– Here’s rookie John Moore on Mason tonight: “Mase made some huge saves. He outplayed (Stars goaltender Kari) Lehtonen, that’s for sure, and Lehtonen is a heck of a goalie.”

– The Blue Jackets may not need to recall a defenseman in the next couple of days to cover for Wisniewski’s injury. May not, I said. Aaron Johnson is here and able to play. But they’ll almost certainly need to recall somebody from Springfield before they leave next week on a lengthy California road trip.

– C Ryan Johansen was a soft-handed beast tonight. His feed to Nash for the game’s first goal tonight had to make Blue Jackets think a season or two down the road, when the kid grows into his paws and really gets comfortable in the NHL. He has 2-2-4 in his last four games after going a few weeks without a point.

– Here’s Mason, on what the win means: “A lot of people were questioning whether we care or not. I think this definitely shows that everybody in this dressing room is going to do everything we can do to get back into the playoff hunt.”

– The Stars lost captain Brenden Morrow in this one, too. Morrow was struck on his wonkly left knee by a puck and didn’t return after the second period.

– Aaron Portzline

aportzline@dispatch.com

twitter: @aportzline

When the NFL owners locked out the players last spring, what seemed like the end was just the beginning for the Cincinnati Bengals.

With no offseason workouts, a shortened training camp and a roster depleted of former stars like quarterback Carson Palmer and receivers Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco, the Bengals appeared headed for another 4-12 season, or possibly worse.

But on Sunday afternoon in Paul Brown Stadium, where the Bengals (9-6) host the Ravens (11-4), Cincinnati is one win away from becoming the No. 6 seed in the AFC playoffs.

If the Ravens win, they can at least secure a No. 2 seed, a first-round bye and host a divisional semifinal. If the Bengals win, they would travel to No. 3 Houston for a first-round game.

“We’ve got an opportunity to do something that almost nobody in the business thought we could do,” said Bengals offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth.

According to Bengals coach and former Ravens defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis, the seeds for Cincinnati’s turnaround were planted during the lockout. That’s when some of the veterans started organizing team drills, practices and workouts.

Gone were the prima donnas like Ochocinco and Owens who would have complained. Instead, the grunt guys like Whitworth and nose tackle Domata Peko took over, and the rest followed.

“The lockout helped create a new atmosphere around here,” Lewis said. “The big, tough guys started running the show, they took over the team. There are no more clique-ish groups in football than the offensive and defensive lines, and they stepped up and everyone else just rallied behind them. They have become the fiber of the team.”

But it’s just not that simple.

Cincinnati is winning with two rookies — quarterback Andy Dalton and receiver A.J. Green — playing prominent roles. Green, a first-round pick out of Georgia, was expected to contribute right away, and the kid has been the total package with 63 catches for 1,031 yards and seven touchdowns.

“He was good early — so unassuming, so talented — from the very first time he stepped on the field,” Lewis said. “Usually you get to see these guys in minicamp and the various offseason camps, but there were no opportunities. But from the first day in training camp, you could tell he was special.”

Dalton has been even more impressive. Quarterback might be the hardest position to learn in all of sports. Few rookies challenge for a playoff spot in their first season. Few rookies taken with the No. 35 overall pick have looked as poised or thrown for 3,166 yards and 20 touchdowns.

He doesn’t play like a rookie.

“He’s so far ahead of me when I was a rookie, it’s not even funny,” former Bengals quarterback and CBS analyst Boomer Esiason said earlier this year. “After my rookie year [general manager] Paul Brown and [coach] Sam Wyche were going into the offseason looking at each other cross-eyed.”

Dalton had Lewis’ head spinning about a month or so before the draft.

“I watched the way our coaches worked with him at TCU and how he threw to his receivers and backs,” Lewis said. “He stood firm, like these guys had been coaching him for years. I could see it was a good match. He understood what we were trying to teach. He could recite and then execute it.”

Dalton will give the Ravens problems. The Ravens don’t have anyone who can match up with Green and Cincinnati has another talented receiver in Jerome Simpson and tight end Jermaine Gresham. The Ravens won the first meeting between the two teams this season, 31-24, as Cincinnati was minus-two in turnover differential and Dalton threw three interceptions.

“It has been a big year for me and for this team, and it’s our job to find a way to get this last step,” said Dalton, who has been sacked 24 times this season, third fewest in the NFL.

Another major difference has been the Bengals defense. Lewis noted that there are five former first-round draft picks starting. The Bengals get pressure with their front four of Robert Geathers, Frostee Rucker, Geno Atkins and Peko. Cincinnati has 44 sacks this season, third best in the league.

They use a 4-3 scheme and play a lot of two-deep coverage, which has given the Ravens problems. Plus, the Bengals know that anytime they play Baltimore, it’s a big game for Lewis, who won a Super Bowl here with the Ravens in 2000.

“If they lose, they know they don’t want to be around me,” Lewis said with a laugh.

Lewis still has a fondness for Baltimore. He often comes back during the offseason as a guest speaker for companies or colleges. He likes what the Ravens have done by adding rookie cornerback Jimmy Smith and using tight ends Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta. He says the Ravens’ front seven on defense is one of the best in the NFL.

But the Bengals have only one goal now. They’ve won six of their past nine meetings against the Ravens.

“I think it would be huge,” said Bengals running back Cedric Benson. “You can only imagine what [a win Sunday] would do to some egos around here. But I think as far as the young guys, the team as a whole, the momentum and the bonding that it will actually do for the guys, for the team, is hard to even put in words. This is a team that has had a lot of adversity, wasn’t expected to do much this year. It would just be kind of a good capper, a great building block to the future.”

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Sarah Jones, a Cincinnati Bengals cheerleader, abruptly resigned her position as a high school teacher on Nov. 30, and now she’s the subject of two investigations. Except nobody will say what Jones has been accused of doing.

Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway has been asked to assign a special prosecutor to a criminal case. The board that certifies teachers in Kentucky is also investigating Jones and she resigned Nov. 30 from Dixie Heights High School in Edgewood.

Strange. Her lawyer had this to say: “Sarah Jones maintains that she’s innocent, that this is just a terrible rumor and it’s my understanding that the alleged victim denies it also. Sarah is being fully cooperative, and there have been no charges filed against her.”

Jones has been a high school teacher since 2006. If her name rings a bell, that’s because she was trashed on a website called, “The Dirty,” earlier this year, and then attempted to sue said website. She won an $11 million judgment against “The Dirty,” but her lawyer bricked in the filing and the case is still ongoing. [Cincinnati.com]