Andy Dalton Injury: Bengals Won't Sustain Success with Gradkowski in Charge

The Cincinnati Bengals dodged a bullet.

X-rays on Andy Dalton’s wrist came back negative, and he’s probable for Week 2.

The NFL world is in shock that the Bengals were not only able to beat the Cleveland Browns 27-17, but they did so with backup Bruce Gradkowski for half the game.

Dalton went down with a wrist injury after Phil Taylor landed on him late in the first half. He had a bag of ice wrapped around it for the remainder of the game.

Up to that point, he had played very well with the odds stacked against him. His first-ever game as a pro was a divisional game on the road. Yet, a poised Dalton ended up completing 10 of 15 for 81 yards and a TD. He was not very accurate on deep balls but was plagued by multiple drops.

He left the game down a point at halftime, and Gradkowski was forced into the action. After punt after punt to start off, Gradkowski made the game-changing play.

He realized the Browns' defense was still in the huddle as the Bengals' offense was approaching the line of scrimmage and did a quick snap count as the Cleveland players scrambled to find a man.

But it was too late, and a 41-yard TD to AJ Green later let the Bengals have all the momentum and a lead they would not relinquish.

That’s the good news.

The bad news is painfully obvious.

Gradkowski stinks.

Aside from his big play, the offense was incredibly stagnant. He was inaccurate on even the shortest of throws and stretching the field was not even an option. Take away the 41-yard bomb and he collected a grand total of 51 yards in an entire half of football.

His lack of arm strength really bogs down the offense and there was a stretch where the Bengals had to punt seven straight times.

Dalton led the Bengals to points on their first three drives and looked like a guy that knew the playbook well, had good chemistry with his wide receivers and never seemed to panic.

He was able to feel the rush and avoid turnovers, all you can ask for in your new QB’s first game as a pro.

If you're a Bengals fan, there are multiple reasons to be excited today. They picked up a divisional win on the road in their rookie QB’s first ever start. The defense is going to be giving up a ton of yards, but it really tightened things up in the redzone.

Most importantly, Dalton will be back.

The “red rifle” impressed in his first round of action and will be back in action next week assuming he doesn’t aggravate the injury during the week.

If the wrist acts up, again…the Gradkowski led offense will be painful to watch.