Cincinnati Bengals: A.J. McCarron should start remainder of season
By Randy Gurzi
The Cincinnati Bengals inserted A.J. McCarron and pulled Andy Dalton in a 33-7 blowout loss in Week 14, but the move should be for the rest of the 2017 season
Overall, Andy Dalton’s 2017 season hasn’t been bad for the Cincinnati Bengals. He’s completed better than 60 percent of his passes for 2,751 yards with 21 touchdowns and just nine interceptions. The problem is, he has too many games where he just comes out looking flat.
This past Sunday was another instance of him doing that as he completed just 14-of-29 passes for 141 yards with a touchdown and a pick. The team was blown out at home 33-9 against the Chicago Bears, and before all was done, they took out Dalton in favor of A.J. McCarron. With just three games left, the move should be permanent.
While the backup signal caller didn’t wow, the fact is Dalton has shown he’s not going to take this team to the next level. With McCarron they could see new hope, but they won’t know for sure unless they play him the final three games.
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It would be a strange occurrence, considering the team had agreed to a trade with the Cleveland Browns to send McCarron to them. A snafu by the Browns messed that up, but it could be a blessing in disguise for the Bengals.
Coming into this season, McCarron had just three career starts and was 2-1 in those. He completed 66.4 percent of his passes for 854 yards with six touchdowns and two picks. Sure, he may not provide much improvement over Dalton, but should he go elsewhere and flourish the Bengals will look foolish for not even trying.
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Even if he does fail, it could provide the motivation Dalton needs to take his game to the next level. Knowing the team at least considered a move could light a fire under the Red Rocket.