Can Andy Dalton Ever Give Bengals Enough from QB Position in the Postseason?

All Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton had to do to quiet the critics who believe he shrinks in big-game situations was defeat the Indianapolis Colts on the road in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs. And he had to do it with his favorite receiver, A.J. Green, and tight end Jermaine Gresham both sidelined with injures.

It was even harder for him than all that sounds.

Dalton went into the game 0-3 in the playoffs, but this wasn't the Sunday he was to shake off his—and the Bengals'—postseason win drought. The Bengals were bested by Indianapolis, 26-10, in a game where Dalton's supporting cast simply didn't do him any favors. 

After the game, Bengals offensive lineman Andrew Whitworth told Paul Daugherty of the Cincinnati Enquirer, "In the big moments, our big guys have to make the plays. You're going to have to make some kind of exceptional play to win the game.''

Dalton ended the day completing 18 of his 35 pass attempts for 155 yards, no scores, no interceptions and a lost fumble. He averaged 4.4 yards per attempt and was under duress all day, taking three sacks and being hit six more times.

Without Green and Gresham—and receiver Marvin Jones and tight end Tyler Eifert, who both landed on injured reserve after suffering foot and elbow injures, respectively—Dalton was tasked with trying to move the ball with the help of Mohamed Sanu, Greg Little and Brandon Tate, among others. Considering Dalton's thin receiving corps, it's no surprise he struggled. 

Still, Cincinnati's offense had zero third-quarter first downs, instead going three-and-out four times. It produced just four first downs in the second half, two of which came on the team's final, meaningless drive. 

While it might be easy to attribute Dalton's bad day to his dearth of receiving targets, it's also worth noting he's had similarly poor postseason performances even with all of his receivers and tight ends healthy.

Dalton has thrown only one touchdown in the playoffs to six interceptions, and he has a completion percentage of 55.7 percent through those four games. The Bengals have managed no more than 13 points in a playoff game with Dalton as their quarterback.

The performance raises the question—again—of whether the Bengals will ever get a playoff win with Dalton under center.

It must be noted Dalton has a 39-23-1 regular-season record and he did lead the Bengals to the playoffs in four consecutive seasons. These are the reasons why the Bengals gave him a six-year, $115 million contract prior to the start of the season.

Date	Opponent	Result	Comp.	Att.	Comp.%	Yds.	TD	INT
Jan. 7, 2012	@ HOU	L, 31-10	27	42	64.3	257	0	3
Jan. 5, 2013	@ HOU	L, 19-13	14	30	46.7	127	0	1
Jan. 5, 2014	vs. SD	L, 27-10	29	51	56.9	334	1	2
Jan. 4, 2015	@ IND	L, 26-10	18	35	52.4	155	0	0
Total		0-4	88	158	55.7	873	1	6

But the now-four postseason losses are also why the Bengals have a way to get out of that contract. It's highly unlikely Dalton sees $115 million—or even $96 million, which is really what the full value of the deal is worth if played out to term, without escalators.

Dalton's deal is structured much like San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick's, in that the Bengals can get out of the contract without a salary cap hit after the 2015 season. Only $25 million of the $96 million is fully guaranteed: His $986,000 2014 salary, his $12 million signing bonus, his $5 million 2014 roster bonus, his $4 million 2015 roster bonus and his $3 million 2015 salary.

After that, it's a year-by-year deal. 

So the Bengals won't be moving on from Dalton in 2015—and they shouldn't. Barring a trade for an upgrade, which would be difficult to pull off since the free-agent and draft quarterback markets are thin, Dalton is likely the best the Bengals can do for now.

However, 2016 may be different. The quarterback market could improve. If Dalton's Bengals go one-and-done in the playoffs one more time, then it might be time to make a change at the position and save $10.5 million (Dalton's 2016 base salary) in cap room alone.

The Bengals have invested in Dalton, to be sure, but they haven't sold the farm for a quarterback who has one major hurdle yet to clear—a playoff win. And while teams don't reach the playoffs or win a postseason game based on quarterback play alone, it cannot be denied that Dalton has done more to harm his team's chances of winning these games than to help.

Dalton may deservedly get a pass for his performance against the Colts because of the myriad injuries to his receiving corps. But the fact he's played just as poorly with his receivers at full health is a reason why that pass can only go so far.

At face value, it's now hard to imagine Dalton playing well in a playoff game. While a convenient narrative, it's not a wrong one. Dalton has done more to prove this narrative's truth than to dismiss it as an easy way to explain the Bengals' postseason woes. 

Dalton's latest opportunity to show he could, in fact, lead the Bengals to a playoff win ended in failure. Now it's on to another offseason and another year of wondering if he ever will.