Sometimes blaming the quarterback is an unjust thing to do. People do with Tony Romo of the Dallas Cowboys all the time, and there are ton more examples of quarterbacks getting the brunt of the blame when it is undeserving. But this is one of those cases where it all falls on the quarterback. Andy Dalton cost his team the football game, and once again, it a big football game with a big moment, he failed to step up to the big lights. This is a problem, and probably it means they have an issue at quarterback whether they want to admit it or not right now.
Cincinnati held a 10-7 advantage heading into halftime. They could have been up at least three more points if Giovanni Bernard did not fumble near the goal line. Dalton came out in the second half, and it honestly seemed like he tightened up crumbling under the pressure even when there was not much. After San Diego scored a touchdown to retake the lead giving Chargers a 14-10 lead early in the third quarter, Dalton tries to run the ball falling forward leading him to fumble the ball. San Diego recovered and added a field goal to give them a seven-point advantage. Dalton played adequtely leading up to this point, but it seemed like the fumble was the start of the spiral like when your friend suggests to do RumpleMintz shots after five hours of drinking.
It became the same story with Dalton as instead of coming up with a response to San Diego getting a score and tying up the game, he threw a putrid interception to Shareece Wright. Once again, this turnover happened in Chargers territory. People really think this guy is a franchise quarterback? This is an average quarterback at this point. Sure he wins games, but Trent Dilfer won games with a good defense behind him. There are so many quarterbacks that have been bailed out by having a great defense, but Dalton cost his team a chance to win this football game without question even though his defense gave him a chance in another attempt to bail his ass out. San Diego only turned Dalton's mistakes to six points meaning Cincinnati at least a chance in this football game and Dalton pissed it away like a drunk Billy Madison.
Even with the ineptitude of Dalton, San Diego deserves credit for winning the football game. Chargers defense played well even with holding one of the worst pass defenses in he National Football League (This actually makes Dalton's day more criminal). They also ran the ball for almost 200 yards with a three-headed monster of Ronnie Brown, Danny Woodhead and Ryan Mathews against one of the best rush defenses in the NFL. With Mathews banged up, they were still able to find a way to control the clock and pull off the massive upset against Cincinnati. Also let's not forget Phillip Rivers being the first person since my grandpa in the 2000s to wear a bolo tie.
It is not time for Cincinnati to make a quarterback change, but they should draft a quarterback in the upcoming 2014 NFL draft. It is a loaded quarterback draft meaning they could get someone like Aaron Murray, Zach Mettenberger or Logan Thomas in the mid-rounds. In no way should Cincinnati be thinking about giving Dalton a 100 million dollar contract in 2015 when his contract is up. Dalton might be sixth in passing for the season, but he might just be a mid-level quarterback who knows how to throw a vertical route to A.J. Green.
Charlie.
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