On Sunday, the Cincinnati Bengals fell 26-10 to the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Wild Card game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Cincinnati, without star receiver A.J. Green and tight end Jermaine Gresham, put forth a listless performance and was knocked out of the first round for the fourth consecutive year.
While much of the blame will be on injuries and a lack of supporting cast, plenty will be heaped at the feet of quarterback Andy Dalton. Facing a mediocre Colts defense, Dalton only completed 18-of-35 passes for 155 yards and no touchdowns.
Dalton, 27, has been at the helm for all four of the aforementioned playoff defeats, playing poorly in each. Overall, Dalton has thrown for one score and six interceptions, never posting a higher QBR than 25.1 (scale 1-100; 50 is average). The former TCU standout has failed to come up big when the lights are brightest, causing some to wonder if Dalton is more of a stopgap than a franchise-caliber quarterback.
The questions are certainly fair, but ill-conceived. Dalton will be the Bengals signal-caller for the foreseeable future after signing a six-year, $96 million contract extension which begins in the 2015-16 campaign. The structure of the contract virtually guarantees Dalton will remain in the Queen City through the next two seasons at cap hits of $9.6 and $13.1 million.
The numbers tell us Dalton has two years to prove himself before any type of major decision would take place. Cincinnati is known as an extremely patient franchise, not willing to move on or eat money unless no other choice is presented. The Bengals have made the playoffs each year with Dalton starting, so owner/general manager Mike Brown can point to that factoid to keep the masses at bay.
Head coach Marvin Lewis has always supported Dalton and will continue to do so. Lewis realizes that if Dalton is sent packing, he is likely on the same train out of town.
The most concerning aspect of the 2014 season for Dalton was regression during the regular season. While his postseason performance against the Colts was not nearly good enough, his body of work from September through December is more troubling. After throwing for 4,293 yards, 33 touchdowns and 7.33 yards per attempt in 2013, Dalton fell back to 3,398 yards, 19 touchdowns, 17 interceptions and 7.06 yards/attempt. Dalton’s interceptions were three less in 2014, but on 105 less throws.
In a division featuring two fellow playoff teams in the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens, along with an up-and-coming Cleveland Browns group, Dalton needs to improve dramatically if Cincinnati doesn’t want to return to the cellar. In the meantime, Brown would be wise to draft a quarterback in the middle rounds of the draft this April to provide some push, whether it be Bryce Petty, Brett Hundley or someone else.
Dalton likely has two years to make progress and win over popular opinion, but time goes quickly. If he does not make the necessary strides within that time period, Who Dey Nation will be cheering for a new quarterback sooner rather than later.
