After Disappointing 2016 Season Bengals Must Consider Life Beyond Andy Dalton

To say that the 2016 season hasn’t gone according to plan for the Cincinnati Bengals is one whopper of an understatement. A campaign that began amid hopes of a sixth straight playoff trip and first postseason win in over two decades now sits in tatters at 3-7-1.

As the disappointment sinks in in the Queen City, so has the realization that there’s going to have to be a new plan. Things that seemed inconceivable only a few short months ago are now real possibilities.

Odds are as good as not that Marvin Lewis will be shown the door at season’s end. And while the Bengals are mulling whether the NFL’s second-longest tenured head coach is really the man to lead the team from the sidelines, there’s something else they need to consider…

Maybe quarterback Andy Dalton isn’t the guy to do so between the lines either.

After the Bengals fell 19-14 in Week 12 (the fifth loss in their last seven games), Lewis allowed to reporters (via the team’s website) that every Cincinnati player is undergoing an evaluation as the team plays out the string this year:

I think with professional football, the players realize their jobs are never really secure. That’s why they are what they are. They have to perform each and every time out. They’re always being evaluated. Their job is to play as well as they can and win football games.

A year ago at this time, had I mentioned that Dalton was potentially playing for his supper, the comments section of this article would have been filled with suggestions that I seek professional psychiatric help—among other things.

After signing a six-year contract extension in the spring of 2015, Dalton responded with the best season of his NFL career. His completion percentage, yards per attempt and yards per completion in 2015 were all career bests. So was his 106.2 passer rating—nearly 20 points higher than his career average.

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More importantly, the Bengals won their first eight games and spent much of the season looking like the AFC’s best team.

Then disaster struck. In a Week 14 tilt with the Pittsburgh Steelers (because of course it had to be the Steelers) Dalton broke his right thumb. Just like that his season and any real hopes the Bengals had of a deep playoff run were dashed.

Dalton hasn’t been the same player since.

Playing under a new offensive coordinator in Ken Zampese and behind an offensive line that took a significant step backward this season, Dalton’s production has plummeted in 2016. His numbers are down nearly across the board, and the 29-year-old has thrown only 12 touchdown passes in 11 …

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