CINCINNATI — One of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton‘s best qualities is probably one of the reasons he rarely gets national attention.
Dalton doesn’t have outbursts on the sideline. He doesn’t throw teammates under the bus. His weekly news conferences are almost boring with his ability to say a lot while usually saying nothing at all.
Because Dalton rarely talks about himself, his teammates and coaches are left to tell his story. And after the heart-pounding ways the 4-1 Bengals have won games this season, Dalton’s calm demeanor is exactly what they need.
“I once heard Bill Polian describe a quarterback as a flatliner,” Bengals offensive coordinator Bill Lazor said. “When the bullets are flying, you need a guy who can keep his pulse under control. That’s what Andy does a great job of, keeping it under control.”
Added Bengals coach Marvin Lewis: “He comes to the sideline and he understands the situation all the time. He just has it handled. He has great qualities that way.”
Dalton displayed no fear when leading a last-minute touchdown drive against the Falcons two weeks ago. He didn’t get concerned when the Bengals trailed the Dolphins by 17 points last week, as evidenced by NFL Films, who had Dalton miked up for the game.
“There’s so much game left. We’ve got a whole half. We’re good,” Dalton said when the team was down two touchdowns. “Everybody chill.”
Dalton’s calm personality has certainly helped during some roller-coaster wins, but that’s not the only reason the Bengals have started well. He’s also playing some of his best football of his career.
“He’s throwing with a lot of confidence right now,” Bengals quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt said. “I think he feels like he can put the ball exactly where he wants to, and he’s doing that right now. Some balls he may not have thrown last year are thrown this year in the exact, perfect spot.”
Dalton has completed 123 of 187 passes for 1,445 yards and 12 touchdowns in helping lead the Bengals to a 4-1 record. Although his seven interceptions ranks second among all quarterbacks, it’s somewhat of a misleading statistic due to a large number of tipped passes.
Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green said Dalton “is playing at an MVP level right now,” and running back Joe Mixon said Dalton is “lights out.”
Dalton’s teammates might praise him, but it’s unlikely you’ll hear it repeated outside of the Bengals locker room. It’s hard to say why.
“When I came here, at first, there was not a lot of praise going around, which I thought was not fair,” said Van Pelt, who previously worked with Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. “In my opinion, he’s a top quarterback in the league with the way he’s played. I don’t know what the cause of that is, but I don’t think it bothers him. Wins and losses count more to him I think, than accolades, but he’s very deserving of it for sure.”
Mixon pointed out that Green got the credit for his winning touchdown catch to beat the Falcons, with little mention of Dalton’s participation.
“What people are not understanding is the pass Andy threw, it was crazy. He threw a dart. I feel like he is not getting enough credit of the pass he threw, they are just talking about the catch,” Mixon said.
It’s likely that it’s hard for some to let go of Dalton’s history. When he plays well, fans hold their breath. “Bad Andy” could return bad at any moment, as he has in the past.
Dalton’s career in has been uneven to say the least. He was booed at a celebrity softball game before the 2015 MLB All-Star Game in Cincinnati. He and the Bengals have rarely proved themselves on a national stage, going 6-15 in prime-time games from 2012 to 2018. His 0-4 playoff record, and the 10.75 points averaged in those losses are also well documented.
It’s almost as if Dalton becomes more interesting when the Bengals are struggling. It’s easy to forget he was in the discussion for MVP in 2015 after the Bengals started 8-0. A late-season injury and two mediocre seasons since have all but erased that memory.
That’s probably one of the reasons Van Pelt and Lazor didn’t know much about him before they took their respective jobs.
“I didn’t know a lot about Andy because I was in the NFC. Didn’t cross paths,” Lazor said. “Then when I was in the other division in the AFC, I guess we just haven’t crossed paths much. So I can’t say I came in with a whole lot of perception of what he was.”
If any of that bothers Dalton, he’d never let it show. And Lazor is fine with things staying that way.
“I’d rather people not talk about us,” Lazor said. “We were doing just fine. Nobody talked about us all offseason, all training camp. We’re fine. We’ll just be quiet and just do our thing.”
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