Steelers

Kovacevic: Why Dalton can’t overcome nemesis

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Andy Dalton and Andrew Whitworth after the Bengals' 23-22 win over the Jets last Sunday. - GETTY

Two years ago this week in Charlotte, Brett Keisel was describing for me why the Steelers' defensive line had just spent the entire evening rushing and rattling Cam Newton. In any standard 3-4 front, after all, the bulk of the pass rush is on the linebackers.

"We wanted to get to Cam up front," Keisel flatly explained, referring to himself, Cameron Heyward and Steve McLendon. "We needed to get to Cam."

Here's guessing you remember the result: Keisel and the big boys overwhelmed Carolina in the trenches and, in turn, flushed Newton out of the pocket and down the commode for a 37-19 romp. And it wasn't pretty. The Panthers' Mr. Everything, who'd spent all of that season scoring with ease and preening after every six points, suddenly looked sloppy and even a little ... scared?

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