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CINCINNATI -- For all the Cincinnati Bengals' struggles this season, the one constant has been quarterback Andy Dalton. That's significant to point out since there have been times during Dalton's previous five seasons when his play has been erratic at best. But, that hasn't been the case for the better part of two seasons.
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Case in point: Sunday's 32-14 slaughter of the Philadelphia Eagles. Despite playing without five-time Pro Bowl receiver A.J. Green and versatile running back Gio Bernard, who are both injured, Dalton delivered his best performance of the season, passing for 332 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions.
"He threw a lot of really nice balls," said tight end Tyler Eifert. "When he's got time to stand back there and step into his throws, he's money."
Dalton has been sacked 32 times this season and still managed to pass for 3,375 yards and complete 64 percent of his passes with 14 touchdowns and just six interceptions. His quarterback rating is a solid 92.6.
With Cincinnati (4-7-1) on the brink of playoff elimination, it's easy to point fingers at the quarterback. That's the way it works in the NFL. But, it's hard to do that in Dalton's case, even with him struggling the previous three weeks after the loss of Green and Bernard. Green suffered a strained hamstring on the first series Nov. 20 against the Bills and Bernard tore his ACL in the closing minute.
Poor offensive line play and a nearly non-existent running game have done Dalton no favors this season. And yet, even without two of his top offensive weapons on Sunday, Dalton managed to get seven receptions for 140 yards from three rookie receivers.
"Andy, man -- you can't throw a ball any better," said veteran receiver Brandon LaFell of his 44-yard catch among his seven receptions for 95 yards. "We were clicking."
Cincinnati scored on six straight possessions on Sunday for the first time since 2009. Dalton completed 74 percent of his passes and had a season-high rating of 130.0 in leading the Bengals to their first win since October.
"It felt like we were in a better rhythm than we were last week," Dalton said following Sunday's win. "When there are new guys in there it's going to take a little bit of time. It was definitely a big improvement this week and we have to keep going."
A fractured thumb in Week 13 ended what already was a career year for Dalton last season. He's been as good, if not better this season. But now that it appears the Bengals' streak of five consecutive playoff appearances is about to end, has Cincinnati wasted Dalton's best years?
"We got more one-on-one matchups today," head coach Marvin Lewis said Sunday. "We had a lead, and that opened up those looks for us. Those types of things make a big difference."
REPORT CARD VS. EAGLES
PASSING OFFENSE: A-plus. Quarterback Andy Dalton delivered one of his finest performances of the season, passing for 332 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. Dalton was not sacked and had great rhythm and timing with his receivers, the best he's had since A.J. Green and Gio Bernard were injured two weeks ago.
RUSHING OFFENSE: D. Rex Burkhead rushed for 38 yards on eight carries in place of Gio Bernard, who is out for the season with a torn ACL. Jeremy Hill managed just 33 yards but did score one touchdown. Despite only rushing for 80 yards, quarterback Andy Dalton managed to pass for 332 yards and two TDs.
PASS DEFENSE: B. Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz completed 36 of 60 passes, most coming in the second half when the result was essentially determined. The Bengals interception Wentz three times, two by linebacker Vontaze Burfict, but could have had more after several potential interceptions escaped their grasp in the first half. Wentz passed for 308 yards.
RUSH DEFENSE: A. The Eagles are a different team without leading rusher Ryan Mathews. They managed only 53 rushing yards on Sunday, resulting in 60 pass attempts by quarterback Carson Wentz. Cincinnati limited them to just 2.8 yards per carry.
SPECIAL TEAMS: C. Mike Nugent's streak of missed extra-point attempts ended, but he started another one. Nugent was 4-for-4 on field goal attempts on Sunday and 2 of 3 on PATs. The boos rained down when Nugent missed an extra point in the second quarter, his fourth PAT miss in five attempts.
COACHING: B. It took a couple weeks playing without A.J. Green and Gio Bernard, but the Bengals figured out ways to give Andy Dalton time to pass and get a corps of young receivers on the same page. Sunday's 32-14 victory over the Eagles might have been Cincinnati's most complete performance to date.
