The result of Sunday's early NFL wild card matchup was something everyone had seen before. The Cincinnati Bengals fell to the Chargers at home 27-10, failing to score in the second half and increasing their drought without a playoff victory to 23 years. Although their struggles date back more than two decades, the blame for recent postseason failure will now be placed on the shoulders of quarterback Andy Dalton. After all, he has everything he needs around him to succeed.
Marvin Lewis' background before becoming a head coach had always been defense, and that side of the ball held the Chargers to just 20 points, despite good field position, until a last minute burst up the middle by Ronnie Brown when the game was all but over. Meanwhile, there hasn't been anything wrong with the play calling by offensive coordinator Jay Gruden, who will be widely coveted for one of the numerous vacant head coaching positions. The Bengals have a star wide receiver in AJ Green and a nice running back combo, and Dalton has the offense playing just fine during the regular season. So what's the problem in the playoffs?
Maybe it's the pressure of the big game, or trying to do too much. The Bengals went undefeated at home, only to face their biggest deficit when it mattered most. Last year, they lost to a Texans team that put up just 19 points. In Dalton's rookie year in 2011, they also lost to the Texans. The Bengals' offensive output in those 3 games: 10, 13, 10. Sure, you can give Dalton a pass in 2011. He was a rookie quarterback with few expectations, the majority of the team was young and inexperienced, and the defense didn't step up either. But one would expect the Dalton to make improvements in 2012, and while he improved during the regular season, it was non existent during the wild card game at Reliant Stadium. He threw for just 127 yards and threw a key interception. Not much was made of Dalton's quarterback play at that time, at least not nationally. But after Sunday's loss, the media is beginning to notice Dalton's struggles as well. Despite finally throwing his first and only postseason touchdown against San Diego, Dalton also threw 2 interceptions, as well fumbling on a quarterback scramble, giving him 3 of Cincinnati's 4 turnovers in the game. The game wasn't all about Dalton, however.
The biggest turnover was probably the Giovani Bernard fumble in the red zone, which completely changed the momentum of the game, while AJ Green was non-existent on offense. So where do the Bengals go from here?
They need a wide receiver who can take some of the attention away from Green. That might be Marvin Jones if he continues to develop like they hope, but it also might be a new draft pick or a free agent signing. Jay Gruden or whoever the next offensive coordinator is must get Andy Dalton to take the next step in his development; he needs to show improvement as he enters his fourth season. Management could look into hiring a sports psychologist for Dalton, to make sure his confidence isn't shaken and that he feels good about himself despite the inevitable media scrutiny. And finally, general manager Mike Brown must seriously evaluate the coaching of Marvin Lewis, who is now 0-5 in playoff appearances. The Bengals in many ways have become the AFC's version of the Dallas Cowboys. Jerry Jones and Mike Brown are both owners who oversee personnel moves, and are loyal to their coaches to a fault, even if said coaches are average/mediocre. Both teams have quarterbacks who can't seem to perform when they reach the playoffs. And both teams consistently fail to go deep into the postseason despite having talented rosters. 2014 will only get harder for the Bengals. The Steelers and Ravens aren't likely to lay eggs and hand over the AFC North like they did this year. The Bengals are going to need to get better, or 2014 might be the end of both Andy Dalton and Marvin Lewis in Cincinnati.
Really good stuff but I have trouble reading when its in such a block format. maybe try to break it up a bit to make it easier on the eyes
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