Andy Dalton understands what the rest of us saw last night.
He was awful, and the reason the Bengals dropped a 24-3 decision to the Browns.
“It all starts with me,” Dalton said, via Richard Skinner of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “It all goes through the quarterback. I’ve got to play better to put our team in position to win.”
Yes, or at least have a passer rating in double digits.
Dalton completed 10-of-33 for 86 yards with three interceptions, for a passer rating of 2.0.
That’s nearly a Blutarsky, and historically ridiculous.
So it’s good that he owned it.
“We didn’t start fast, that’s on me,” said Dalton. “I have to obviously play better. When you take turns missing assignments, missing a throw, whatever it may be, it’s not going to turn out well for you and that’s what happened tonight.”
The night part is key, as Dalton’s now 2-6 in prime time since joining the Bengals along with A.J. Green.
“This one’s got me speechless,” Green said. “Very embarrassing. I thought we had a great game plan going in. It hurts when you put in all that work and come out and just lay an egg.”
Dalton’s struggled in general over the last night, with six interceptions and just two touchdowns in the last four games, with a 54.3 rating.
“I’m concerned about the turnovers on offense,” coach Marvin Lewis said. “He will break out of this tonight. Tonight, he had a bad day. He’ll come out of this and be fine. We will get him out of this, but it was not a good night.”
He’s had many good days, but a lot of bad nights. Ordinarily, this is where a coach would be asked about the possibility of a change, but with the financial commitment they’ve made to Dalton, they can only hope he shakes it off.
