Bengals Minimizing Andy Dalton's Impact, Figuring Out New Winning Formula

The dominant storyline for the Cincinnati Bengals heading into Monday night's matchup against the Denver Broncos was how the Bengals would fare under the prime-time lights. And no Bengals player received more of the scrutiny than quarterback Andy Dalton.

Since Dalton took over as the Bengals' quarterback in 2011, the Bengals have had just two wins and six losses in prime time. Add in the three postseason losses, and Dalton's Bengals were just 2-of-9 in prime-time or playoff matchups.

Fairly or not, the finger has been pointed squarely at Dalton for these losses. Though football is unforgettably a team sport, the quarterback position gets the most blame—and the most credit—for a team's performance. Therefore, it was assumed that how Dalton handled the pressure of Monday's big game would be how the Bengals performed as a whole.

Game	Outcome	Comp.	Atts.	Comp.%	Yds.	TD	INT
1/7/2012 @ HOU	L, 31-10	27	42	64.29	257	0	3
9/10/12 @ BAL	L, 44-13	22	37	59.46%	221	0	1
10/21/12 vs. PIT	L, 24-17	14	28	50.00%	105	1	1
12/13/12 @ PHI	W, 34-13	13	27	48.15%	127	1	0
1/5/13 @ HOU	L, 19-13	14	30	46.67%	127	0	1
9/16/13 vs. PIT	W, 20-10	25	45	55.56%	280	1	0
10/31/13 @ MIA	L, 22-20 (OT)	32	52	60.38%	338	0	3
12/15/13 @ PIT	L, 30-20	25	44	56.82%	230	2	0
1/5/2014 vs. SD	L, 27-10	29	51	56.86%	334	1	2
10/15/14 @ NE	L, 43-17	15	24	62.50%	204	2	0
11/6/14 vs. CLE	L, 24-3	10	33	30.30%	86	0	3
12/22/14 vs. DEN	W, 37-28	17	26	65.38%	146	2	1

However, this is a fact that hasn't been lost on the Bengals this season, and in the last few weeks in particular. As such, Dalton has been hidden inside of a productive Bengals run game; he's more of a garnish, rather than the offense's main entree.

It wasn't just Dalton who led the Bengals to their 37-28 win over the Broncos on Monday. In fact, it at first appeared he'd again cost them an important win on the national stage, with Dalton throwing a pick-six to Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib on his second possession. 

Dalton was off on his deeper passes and was relegated mostly to throwing screens. This wasn't helped by receiver A.J. Green suffering an arm injury on the pick-six, one that had him in and out of the game the rest of the way, and mostly as a decoy. He was finally downgraded to questionable later in the game.

Dalton finished the game with 17 completions on 26 pass attempts for 146 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. The first score came in the second quarter to tight end Jermaine Gresham; the second was a dump-off to Giovani Bernard in the third quarter that he ran in for a 22-yard score.

The run game, which the Bengals established early and rarely strayed from, netted the biggest dividends. In total, the Bengals rushed 37 times for 207 yards. They averaged 5.6 yards per rush, helped along by an 85-yard Jeremy Hill touchdown run and another 23 yard rush from Bernard.

Hill was the Bengals' leading rusher, with 22 carries for 147 yards and a score. Hill also had a lost fumble that eventually resulted in a Broncos touchdown; however, he wasn't entirely in head coach Marvin Lewis' and offensive coordinator Hue Jackson's doghouse after the misstep—he was just too valuable on the day.

It wasn't the first time this season the Bengals have let the run game dictate their offensive rhythm. The Bengals had 244 collective rushing yards in Week 15's shutout of the Cleveland Browns, with Hill carrying the ball 25 times for 148 yards and two scores.

Hill has now eclipsed 140 or more rushing yards per game in four games this season, while the Bengals have had no fewer than 100 combined rushing yards in 10 games. Jackson was brought aboard to revitalize the Bengals' run game, positioning it as its biggest strength, and slowly but surely that intent has been made a reality.

It's not that Dalton is a bad quarterback—it's more that his performance can vary, and wildly. It's hard to hang a team's win-loss hopes solely on a quarterback whose play vacillates so much, which is why the emergence of Hill under Jackson's tutelage has helped the Bengals so much.

And it wasn't just the rushing offense that bailed out Dalton on Monday. The defense, which hadn't often been much to write home about this season, stepped up considerably.

From disguising blitzes and confusing Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning in the first half—to the tune of just 88 first-half passing yards—to Manning's four interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown by Dre Kirkpatrick, it was the Bengals' best defensive performance of the season. 

Special teams, too, had its place in the victory. Adam Jones had three kickoff returns totaling 134 yards, including a long of 80, which set up Bernard's touchdown. He also had a 21-yard punt return. Brandon Tate also had a 49-yard punt return, which led to a Bengals field goal in the fourth quarter.

But make no mistake—this win was a clear example of the Bengals trying to find ways to win that don't hinge on the quarterback alone. That's a good trait for a team to have heading into both next week's winner-takes-the-AFC-North meeting with the Pittsburgh Steelers as well as into the playoffs, which the Bengals have made for the fourth straight year.

A complete team—one that can run the ball, especially when the pass isn't working, one that features equally as effective special teams and defense—is the more dangerous team.

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Think about it: Could the Bengals have hoped for a similar outcome last year with Green hurt in such a big game without the help of Hill or the offensive mindset of Jackson? Probably not.

The commitment to running the ball and to making all the components around Dalton better than before has resulted in a stronger team. It's no longer Dalton's show, every week. Now, the run game can be the offense's centerpiece, with Dalton's screen and play-action game building off of that. 

The Bengals needed to find a way to win with Dalton, even when Dalton isn't at his best. That was very much on display, both in Week 15 against the Browns and again in prime time in Week 16. It took a lot of learning experiences along the way for the Bengals to get to this point, but they couldn't have figured it out at a better time.