'Good Andy' Beats Texans, but Don't Count on Dalton to Lead Bengals Playoff Run

HOUSTON — Andy Dalton, in the minutes before he'd play another Dalton-esque game, ran to midfield to eagerly shake President George H.W. Bush's hand before his Cincinnati Bengals would play the Houston Texans.

Bush looked slightly surprised by Dalton. Probably because the handshake wasn't intercepted.

The Bengals would go on to beat the Texans, 22-13, despite, yes, a pick-six from Dalton, giving the quarterback his first win in four games against the Texans, including two playoff losses at Houston in which he totaled zero touchdowns and four interceptions.

There is good Andy and there's bad Andy, and lately we're seeing more good than bad. Cincinnati has won two straight, beating the Saints last week and the Texans on Sunday. That is the good news. The Bengals are winning, and since they play the Buccaneers next week, they will likely do so again.

There is more good news for Cincinnati. The Bengals severely, relentlessly and mercilessly battered the Texans on both sides of the ball. It was quietly as punishing a football game, particularly the line play, as there was all day.

So, all good on the Bengals front, right? Yes and no.

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The Bengals were dramatically helped by Houston quarterback Ryan Mallett, who at times displays Tim Tebow-like accuracy and throwing form. The knock on Mallett when he was with the Patriots was he throws an inaccurate football, and that is becoming crystal clear now. The Patriots seemed all too happy to part with Mallett, and we are seeing why. He completed only 21 of 45 passes for 189 yards and one interception. His quarterback rating was 49.2.

Bengals players said outright after the game the plan was to take away the run and put pressure on Mallett. The plan worked as Mallett crumbled under that pressure.

"I couldn't hit the broadside of a barn from from five yards away," Mallett said.

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It turns out, however, that Mallett had a reason for at least part of the inaccuracy. As John McClain of the Houston Chronicle reported, Mallett played an unspecified amount of the game with a torn pectoral muscle. Mallett could miss several weeks, at least.

Despite the physical beating inflicted on the Texans, the team still kept it moderately close. Houston coach Bill O'Brien knew this game was there to be had, which is why at one point in his postgame press conference he got extremely agitated.

"I hate losing," he said. "I hate it. I hate it with every fiber of my body."

"Losing sucks," said J.J. Watt.

But the bigger story is Dalton. If you are a fan or a member of the Cincinnati coaching staff and you think Dalton can win in the postseason, if the Bengals get there, you are fooling yourself.

Dalton still makes catastrophic mistakes. Sometimes they are just inexplicable. In the third quarter, with the Bengals up comfortably, 16-3, and cruising to what looked to be an easy win, Dalton threw a pass right into the arms of John Joseph, who returned it 60 yards for a touchdown. The play should have actually not counted since Jadeveon Clowney lined up 400 yards offside. 

Players make mistakes. Even the best ones do. It wasn't long ago when idiots were wondering if Tom Brady should be benched.

This isn't about mistakes. This is about serial mistakes. And elevation. Dalton doesn't lift the Bengals enough. Thus, this is about whether Dalton can win games instead of losing them. This is a question we have been asking for years and still are.

The winning doesn't mask the Dalton questions. It only intensifies them.

Please, don't call me a Dalton hater. He's impossible to hate, but he is also perhaps the biggest weak spot on the team, and that's a problem when that player is the quarterback.

He will at times make some stupendous throws. Two in particular against the Texans were why some choose to see no Dalton evil. In both instances the ball landed like it was a puff of cotton candy instead of a football into the hands of receivers—A.J. Green and Mohamed Sanu—on similar plays. Dalton's touch is at times dazzling and serves as a form of crack cocaine to his supporters.

Then a throw like those will be followed by two or three into the dirt. Or overthrows. Or a turnover. Or a game like the one he played against the Browns several weeks ago when he had a career-low 30.3 completion percentage, 86 yards passing and a 2.0 passer rating. Akili Dalton.

We see good Andy, bad Andy, horrific Andy and puke-inducing Andy. The problem is we need to see consistent Andy. Maybe even great Andy, if that persona exists.

Dalton wanted this win because he's from nearby Katy, but the Bengals wanted it because they've lost three times here, including twice in the playoffs. "It's something we talked about during the week," said Bengals offensive lineman Andrew Whitworth, speaking of the importance of getting a victory against the Texans.

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"We have some guys that are from here…we kind of owe this football team, and they've had our number. This is a great win for us all around. This is a personal game for us. This team's robbed us probably in seasons where we felt we were better than them, had to come to their place and didn't play as well and didn't get a chance to go on in the playoffs. This was a personal game to us…"

So personal that offensive coordinator Hue Jackson brought up the fact the team needed to win for Dalton in a meeting on Saturday night. Jackson told players they needed to "protect" Dalton. 

The Bengals are 7-3-1 and will be a factor down the stretch because they are getting healthy and starting to reacquire their nasty disposition. That offense remains stacked. Their schedule finishes with Tampa, Pittsburgh twice, the Browns and Broncos. Not easy. But not impossible.

In some ways, this stretch will help to define Dalton. Which Dalton will we see?

Will we see a Dalton who will finally show some consistency? Carry his team? Not choke? Not throw a pick-six or get a 2.0 passer rating?

Or will we see the same Andy?

Mike Freeman covers the NFL for Bleacher Report.