Andy Dalton Locked, Loaded, and Ready to Pull the Trigger for 2013
Dec 13, 2012; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins (97) hits Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton (14) causing a fumble during the second quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Perhaps the largest problem that Dalton faced towards the end of his 2012 season was turnovers.
After starting the season off with a high-flying pass attack, the young gunslinger was sure to have his fair share of turnovers to go with his scores. He’s still young, so it’s only to be expected.
However, it seemed like Dalton settled in very well. The scores kept coming in the middle of the season, and the turnovers seemed to see a decrease. At one point, Dalton had a three game stretch of zero turnovers.
A lot of magical things happen in the month of December. The most joyous holiday of the year is full of time with family, friends, and the exchange of gifts with them.
Who knows? Perhaps Andy was feeling generous in the month of December. It certainly looked like it, as he repeatedly handed the other team the football.
Before the month of giving, Dalton tossed the pigskin for 23 touchdowns, as opposed to 11 interceptions. As mentioned earlier, the five game span starting in San Diego then saw him throw just four touchdowns to five interceptions. That’s not something you want from your starting signal-caller.
The fact that Cincinnati won four out of five of those games was actually in spite of Dalton. It was the defense that kept Cincinnati from a huge falloff heading into the playoffs, and it was actually the defense that scored quite a few points in the final games. Namely, interceptions returned for touchdowns by both Leon Hall and Carlos Dunlap to aid in their wins against Pittsburgh and Baltimore in consecutive rival weeks.
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