After a 3-0 start to the season and being showcased as the most complete team in the NFL at the quarter pole, the Cincinnati Bengals aren't going to sneak up on anyone.
"Now we're the hunted," offensive coordinator Hue Jackson said Thursday, per The Cincinnati Enquirer. "It's not like the people say, 'Here come the Bengals.' No, we're the hunted. When you get hunted you've got to understand you get everybody's best shot."
Jackson believes the Bengals are primed to take every team's best punch.
"We have to relish in that," said Jackson. "That's not pressure, that's just you paying more attention to detail and doing your job better than what you've done and everything else will take care of itself. I wouldn't want it (any) other way. That means you're doing things the right way. It's good to be in that spot, but everybody's going to try to knock you off and we have to do everything we can to stay there."
The Bengals will get a prime time chance to display that characteristic Sunday night when they meander to Foxboro to take on a wounded New England Patriots team. Great teams shovel more dirt on struggling playoff contenders. Not-as-great teams allow those opponents new breath.
On Sunday we could find out just how the Bengals respond to being hunted.
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