For Andy Dalton, an opportunity he had not planned for turned out better than expected

But with that came the ease of victory, a relief they hadn't enjoyed in some time (their last win was on December 17, 2023 against the Falcons).

The players talked about the joy that came with playing supplemental football and how Dalton and the early energy of the offense energized the entire team.

“I think our guys had the right attitude, the right mentality from the beginning and never let up,” Dalton said. “And that was the beauty of it. We didn't just have one drive, we were able to hang on the whole game, played complementary football and the guys had a lot of fun, and that's how it should be.”

There was no shortage of fun on those long drives home (the last away win was in the 2022 season finale in New Orleans, and there have been two coaching changes since then.) And as much as they enjoyed it, they also had to realize that there were no promises this season.

It was a good day. A lot of people needed it.

“I mean, it shows what we can do,” Dalton said. “And I think for us, that's like, okay, we've shown what our level is now, we know what we can do, and the goal is to be able to prove that every week.”

“And for us it was a big win, the first of the year, and now it's: OK, let's go. We know the possibilities out there. We have to play at that level.”