"Through his first nine NFL starts, Andy Dalton continues to have one of the best NFL rookie seasons in NFL history. When it comes to comparing his quick start and the effect he has had on the Bengals, it resembles the one that his counterpart in Sunday's game had with the Ravens.

After years of struggling to find a franchise quarterback, Baltimore found one in 2008 when they drafted Joe Flacco with the 18th overall pick. All he has done is lead the Ravens to three straight playoff appearances.

Dalton and Flacco face each other for the first time today at M&T Bank Stadium in a key AFC North clash. Both teams are 6-3 with the winner tying idle Pittsburgh atop the division.

"I think some people have made the comparison, especially playing in the same division," Dalton said. "I feel like I've grown a lot, seeing things a lot better and have a really good understanding of what we're doing and what the defenses are doing."

In last week's loss to Pittsburgh, Dalton passed Greg Cook's team mark for most passing yards as a rookie. His 16 touchdowns are the most for a rookie in the league through the first nine games since the merger."