The Bengals and quarterback Andy Dalton made the rebound they needed to make between Weeks 10 and 11, putting a dreadful performance against the Browns behind them in time to come up with a comfortable win in New Orleans last weekend.
It’s the kind of swing that can drive fans mad, especially when there were already doubts about whether Dalton, who posted a 2.0 quarterback rating against the Browns, can be consistent enough to win a playoff game for the first time in decades. Coach Marvin Lewis said Friday that the blame for that loss should be spread far beyond Dalton while also saying that it is sometimes darkest before the dawn.
“Sometimes you gotta hit rock bottom before you can go all the way back up to the top, and we certainly were at rock bottom a few weeks ago on Thursday night,” Lewis said on NFL Network.
Sunday brings a date with the Texans, who brought the Bengals to rock bottom in the playoffs in each of Dalton’s first two seasons. Dalton threw four interceptions and no touchdowns in those games and he also lost his lone regular season game against Houston in his rookie season, so this would be a good time to show that he can put together a string of good performances for the Bengals.
If things go the other way, Lewis will have a hard time convincing people that rock bottom is a way station on the road to anything other than another disappointing loss.