Andy Dalton’s first pass attempt of 2018 was a ghastly looking looper aimed at Joe Mixon. It ended up in the waiting hands of Colts cornerback Kenny Moore, an inauspicious beginning to the year that sparked instant flashbacks to last year’s first game.
You know, the one that began with the Bengals committing a false start penalty on the first play? The one that ended with Dalton having thrown four picks while leading the Bengals to zero points?
Yeah, that one.
As much as I can recite for you his many attributes and accomplishments, I can also describe in great detail what it’s like to watch fearing a snowball effect of a slow Dalton start.
Andy looked shaky from the start in last year’s opener, and by halftime he’d thrown three interceptions, well on his way to a five-turnover performance in a loss to the Ravens. If you were watching how it began to unfold, you could’ve seen what was coming.
You could be forgiven if, like me, you took Dalton’s game-opening interception as a sign of what was ahead. The Bengals were on the road. Andrew Luck was making his return. And even if the pick didn’t result in Indianapolis points – thank you, Preston Brown – the Lucas Oil Stadium crowd seemed poised to enjoy a day of reveling in Dalton’s continued foibles.
Dalton instead authored a fine performance in his team’s stirring comeback win over the Colts. Playing behind an offensive line that’s still a work in progress, yet armed with both a productive running game and a full arsenal of pass-catchers, Dalton’s week one performance was the antithesis of his opening-week meltdown a year ago.
When protected, he completed passes. When forced to improvise with the game hanging in the balance, he ran to extend a drive while taking a hit that engendered cringes from those of us watching, but respect from the men he was leading. It’s cliché to talk about a quarterback’s poise under duress, but there’ve been times during Dalton’s career where he’s looked harried, and even a little disorganized, when things have started to slide downhill. He was in control against the Colts, never showing panic, and on a day when Luck’s mere presence made the thousands of Bengals fans in attendance fear the worst, Dalton was at his best.
The slow start didn’t snowball – Dalton instead flourished. With his team down 13 mid-way through the third quarter, he took what the Indy defense gave, completing three short passes before his game-changing scamper on third and six, then fired a strike to A.J. Green – who had his own turnover to atone for – for a 38-yard touchdown pass.
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Dalton had less of a hand in the Bengals’ next drive, which was aided by two key Colts penalties and Mixon demonstrating the capabilities that make him such a tantalizing talent, punctuating a scoring drive with a one-yard touchdown run that gave his team the lead.
But Andy was on during the next possession, not necessarily because he made difficult throws or padded his stat totals, but because he continued to make precise passes while allowing his guys to do their thing. There was a toss to Green that brought the Bengals to midfield, then a key completion to Eifert on second and 17, followed by 17-yard hookup with Tyler Boyd that set up the final Bengals offensive points of the afternoon.
Those points, provided by Randy Bullock’s leg, weren’t enough to stave off moments of dread as Luck dragged his team into Bengals territory, setting up what felt like an inevitable meltdown. But apprehension soon turned into elation, thanks to Clayton Fejedelem’s unlikely hero turn, and a game-sealing 83-yard fumble return that gave the Bengals a gratifying road win that many had a hand in.
No hand was bigger, though, than Dalton’s. His stats from Sunday – 21 of 28 for 243 yards – might not jump off the page, and he might not be getting the national run that Pat Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers are today. He might not have even been the best quarterback at Lucas Oil Stadium Sunday, but Andy Dalton at least prevented a slow start from developing into a disastrous afternoon. He avoided the kind of mistakes that plagued last year’s opener while doing just enough to prevent a second consecutive 0-1 start.
What a difference a year makes.
(Top image:Andy Dalton by Thomas J. Russo/USA TODAY Sports)
