Cincinnati Bengals QB Andy Dalton will want to put his second preseason game behind him. He was in postseason form, which is bad when you are Dalton and are yet to win an NFL postseason game. On Monday night Dalton didn’t give much hope to the Bengals fanbase in how he preformed during the first half against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
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Dalton went 6-for-13 for 46 yards and threw two interceptions. He had trouble connecting with his receivers especially A.J. Green, who had two receptions on 24 yards. The Andy Dalton of the regular season was not present and it’s not a good sign when the back-up quarterback looks better than the starter even in a preseason game.
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In contrast, AJ McCarron threw for 95 yards by connecting on 11 of his 15 passing attempts. Additionally, his 6.3 yards per attempt was 3.0 yards more than Dalton. If this play continues into the regular season, then Dalton may find himself being McCarron’s back up. The Bengals should have Dalton on a short leash during the regular season given how talented the AFC North is. Dalton’s play will be be a key reason if the Bengals have a chance at winning the division or sit in the cellar.
Dalton needs to spend time watching, analyzing, and then re-watching the game film. He can learn from his poor start tonight, but if his week 3 performance is like week 2, then there may actually be a quarterback battle for the starting gig in Cincinnati.
Additionally, Dalton’s lack of cohesiveness and connection with his receivers should be concerning. It’s not like this is their first rodeo together. Granted, Green was mainly responsible for Dalton’s first interception, but situations like these are things Dalton can help with in practice as one of the leaders on the team. The offense was clicking in their first preseason game, but they took many steps back against the Bucs.
The Bengals next preseason game will be important to see if they improved on their glaring mistakes this week. If not, their week one preseason performance will be considered a fluke and it won’t bode well for them during the regular season.
For now, Bengals fans are pinching themselves hoping that Dalton’s performance was just a bad nightmare that they will wake up from soon. Unfortunately, it was reality and now the Bengals have more questions than answers and have some soul searching to do before their next preseason performance. Dalton has been the franchise’s starting quarterback for many years, but that may not last much longer if he has many more repeat performances like Monday night.
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