AP

Last month, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis called out quarterback Andy Dalton and linebacker Rey Maualuga, telling them to step up and be vocal leaders of their respective units.

Lewis says they’ve responded well to the challenge.

“It’s been great,” Lewis told Russ Thaler on Tuesday’s edition of Pro Football Talk. “I think both players have done that. I think their players have rallied with them. They have been demanding of the other 10 guys in the huddle with them day in and day out, in their daily work, in the meetings after practice that they run. That’s what I wanted, I wanted them to continue — I was trying to give them the green light to go ahead and empower the rest of the team, take hold of team and know that they had myself and the rest of the coaches behind them in order to do that.”

Though the Bengals didn’t respond right away, losing to the Broncos and Peyton Manning, Cincy has seized the day since then, beating the Giants and Eli Manning and the Chiefs and . . . and . . . and whoever they currently have who can make a difference in a game.

Lewis also reflected on his relationship with former Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer, who’ll return to Cincinnati this weekend as the quarterback of the Raiders.

Speaking of former Bengals, Lewis also says that second-year receiver A.J. Green is already better than Chad Johnson in his prime.

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