Cincinnati Bengals' Andy Dalton Should Keep His Chin Up After Week 10 Debacle

Is he an elite passer like his six-year, $96 million contract would suggest he is? Probably not, but Cincinnati Bengals (5-3-1) quarterback Andy Dalton is not as bad as the media and analysts are saying he is. Ever since his pathetic showing on Thursday Night Football where he completed 10-of-33 passes for 86 yards and three interceptions, he has been scrutinized relentlessly.

It remains to be seen whether or not Dalton is truly a franchise quarterback. He might not be, but he is not a guy to totally abandon ship on either. Four things magnified Dalton’s poor performance on Thursday: 1) It was a prime time game with a national audience. 2) His offense only managed to score three points in a pivotal division battle against instate rival Cleveland Browns (6-3). 3) That loss, coupled with the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-4) losing to the New York Jets (2-8) in Week 10, gave Cleveland sole possession of first place in the ultra-competitive AFC North come Monday. 4) Dalton had his biggest weapon, WR A.J. Green, in uniform for the matchup and failed to produce.

Dalton’s quarterback rating in the Browns game was 2.0. That’s a franchise worst for passers who attempted 20-plus throws in a game. Historically, it’s a bad number, but it’s also just a bad game. The best of players have them.

Hall of Famer Joe Namath twice recorded a QBR of zero in his career. Warren Moon, another HoF quarterback, appears twice on that list as well. Terry Bradshaw (x3), Len Dawson, Dan Fouts, Jeff Garcia, Bob Griese, Eli Manning and even the legendary Johnny Unitas all share this dubious distinction with one another. All of them turned in much worse single game performances in their careers than Dalton.

In many regards, Dalton is coming off a personal best season for him in 2013. I’m not exactly sure what is wrong with a 61.9 percent completion rate to go with 4,293 passing yards and 35 total touchdowns. Even after Thursday’s rough day, his completion rate for the season sits at a healthy 60.9 percent. That’s higher than Brian Hoyer‘s current mark of 58.5, which no one in Ohio seems to be complaining about, even though Johnny Manziel‘s career completion percentage at Texas A&M was over 10 points higher (68.9). (Hoyer’s career completion percentage in college while with Michigan State was 55.8, by the way)

It’s sad how things can get blown out of proportion this day in age. Everybody is a critic on social media — few of them with any credibility or relatable experience to consider. Almost no one knows what it is like to be a professional athlete being driven to the ground by 300-pound behemoths because your right tackle got beat off the ball.

Dalton probably will not go down in history with his name alongside Namath, Moon or Unitas — as a legend or for having a passer rating of 0.0 — but the Red Rifle is not as bad as people make him out to be.

Comparisons to Tim Tebow are definitely not warranted. At 27, Dalton is still making a living in the league — Tebow, also 27, wears a suit and tie and sits in front of cameras on game days. If Dalton were truly terrible at his chosen profession, the Bengals would not even be in the thick of a very competitive push for the playoffs in the AFC North. I would take Dalton any day over Jay Cutler to lead my offense moving forward, in fantasy football or real life.

Jordan Wevers is a writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @JordanWevers, “Like” him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google.