CINCINNATI -- On Monday, Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson expressed his displeasure with the way Seattle Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett kept driving Andy Dalton into the turf during a runback after the quarterback's second-quarter interception in the Bengals' 27-24 overtime win on Sunday.
"I don't condone Michael Bennett going after our quarterback like he did," Jackson said. "He's a tremendous football player and someone that you have to really plan for. [But] I think [head coach] Marvin [Lewis] didn't really appreciate it. I don't think I appreciated it. I don't think anybody appreciated it."
Bennett was flagged for unnecessary roughness after the play, but the 15-yard penalty didn't change how upset the Bengals were with what they witnessed.
The play in question came with about a minute left in the first half, when Dalton double-pumped before looking to his right. He tried to complete a pass along the Bengals sideline and into the end zone to receiver A.J. Green. Seahawks corner Richard Sherman had decent coverage on Green, but it was the help of safety Earl Thomas that led to the turnover. From deep atop the secondary, Thomas tracked Dalton's throw and jumped in front of Green to catch the ball before the Pro Bowl receiver could.
While Thomas sprinted 68 yards from his own goal line, Bennett picked on Dalton. Once he saw the interception, Bennett disengaged from his blocker near Dalton and went right for the unsuspecting quarterback, pushing him down from behind. Before Dalton could get all the way up, Bennett pushed him back to the ground twice. He then practically kneeled on top of Dalton as Thomas was brought down many yards away.
"There was a flag thrown on him, and I'm sure the league will address it the way they address it," Jackson said. "You have to let those things kind of take care of themselves."
But that doesn't mean the Bengals didn't want to retaliate.
"What can you do? There's still rules that everything's governed by," Jackson said. "It's not like you can go out there and beat the guy up like that."
The coach suggested Dalton's shove was a topic of conversation among his offensive linemen and skill players. Neither he nor any other coaches had to bring it to their attention.
"Trust me: You don't have to say those things to them," Jackson said. "Those things don't go unnoticed."