Ron Rivera: Panthers ‘can’t fall asleep’ on Bengals’ Andy Dalton

The Carolina Panthers expect an enormous challenge Sunday when they face the Cincinnati Bengals.

Not only do the Bengals bring a 2-0 record into the game against the 1-1 Panthers, but they also bring an offense that has the talent and scheme to give any opposing defense fits.

‘They’ve got some tremendously skilled weapons’

That’s what Panthers coach Ron Rivera fully expects.

“You’ve got to be prepared to play them in an up-tempo,” Rivera told Jim Miller and Pat Kirwan on Movin’ The Chains. “They’ve got some tremendously skilled weapons — obviously, A.J. Green being the biggest one they have. And you’ve got to be prepared to handle and deal with these guys. And probably the biggest thing that we have to do is make sure we’re ready to play prior to each snap.

‘They use a lot of different weapons’

“They do a lot of different things, they use a lot of different weapons, different personnel groupings, shifts and motions. And you can’t fall asleep on Andy Dalton because he is a terrific athlete and he will, at times, pull that ball down and run.”

Dalton’s ability to attack the Panthers’ defense in multiple ways has great potential to create a large headache for Rivera, his assistant coaches, and his team’s defenders.

‘They’ve got three good tight ends, which is tough to have in this league’

“Andy Dalton poses problems,” Rivera said. “Their receiving corps poses problems. They’ve got three good tight ends, which is tough to have in this league, but they’ve got three good ones and we’ve got to respect all their ability. And, unfortunately, (running back Joe) Mixon won’t be out there for them, but they still have a very formidable running game. Giovani Bernard is a good player, so we’ve got to be ready to handle him as well. This is a team coming in, they’re 2-0, they’re riding a high, they’ve got good athletes, they’ve got good playmakers.”