His 13.5 sacks last year rank as the second highest total in franchise history since the stat became official in 1983. This year Dunlap has seven sacks, which are 0.5 shy of defensive tackle Geno Atkins’ team lead. But while Dunlap hasn’t gotten to the quarterback as much, he’s found another way to affect the game by using his long arms to deflect passes.
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Dunlap’s 15 passes defended are not only the most on the team, they are seven more than any other player. And they lead all NFL defensive linemen.
The 6-foot-7, seven-year veteran talked about missing the playoffs for the first time since 2010 and the possibility of returning to the Pro Bowl for this week’s Cincinnati Bengals High 5:
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Q: Between your college days at Florida and here with the Bengals, you haven't experienced a lot of losing. What did you learn from this season?
A: We had a lot of guys step up. We didn't make as many big plays as we did last year. We let teams make more big plays than we did. Didn't finish a couple games. There's a whole bunch of things you can say. You can't pinpoint it on one thing. That's the reason we've had this issue because if it's one thing you can narrow down on and fix it. But it's been one thing here and one thing there.
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Q: Now that you've played in the Pro Bowl, do you approach your role as a voter any differently?
A: It's something I've always taken seriously, but they always say that you make it the year after you probably could have made it. That's not something I'm a fan of. I feel like if you did the work, you should reap the reward. Some guys when they got missed the year before, they deserve it this year. So you've got to find a way to balance or find a way to get the guys who had that year and reward them then, or something like that. But this year it's in Orlando? So bringing it back to the states, they'll probably have a bigger fan base and they have the little challenges throughout the week.
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Q: What are your thoughts on being voted a second alternate and possibly making back-to-back appearances in the game?
A: The Pro Bowl definitely means something to be because I'm very appreciative of the fans voting for me and the players and my peers around the league eyeing me as one of those elite players, but not something I'm looking forward to because of the season, the way we had it. But it would still be an honor to play in that game because the fans and my peers value me because as that type of a player. But as a player on the Bengals, I'm still frustrated.
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Q: You saw what happened when Tyler Eifert got hurt in last year's game. Is that in the back of your mind?
A: Yeah. That's obviously going to be in the back of people's minds. Guys who are up for news deals will probably worry about that a lot more than guys who are under contracts. Obviously I still have a concern about it, but if you go out there with that in your mind, that's usually when it happens. So if you go out there and prepare for the football game like you normally would, as a professional, I feel like it's less likely to happen. But at the end of the day, it's still football, so stuff like that happens. I probably wouldn't (skip it). It depends on the scenarios. I would love to pass it up for a Super Bowl. But being a two-time Pro Bowler is something I would love to have next to my name, so I wouldn't just pass up the opportunity too easily.
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Q: They are adding a bunch of skill challenges to Pro Bowl weekend this year. How good are you at dodgeball?
A: I used to be very good at dodgeball when I was a kid. But I feel like now I'm a bigger target. But I feel like I'm nimble enough to get out of the way. Maybe that's the way to get the fans more involved. Obviously with it not being in Hawaii, they've got to do a little extra. It'll probably be a good turnout.
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