Andy Dalton, wearing a Santa hat during a Christmas season he has helped deliver the best start to a 16-game season in Bengals’ history, locked eyes with his wife as if she were A.J. Green and he was one-on-one.
He had just said good-bye to the 17 families, wished them one last “Merry Christmas,” to close out the Monday night holiday party, and Jordan Dalton’s eyes told him they were both relieved and rejoicing.
Then they high-fived.
“It was exactly what we were trying to do,” Dalton said Tuesday, the day after, trying to sort out the snapshot of moments as if they were protections.