Can Andy Dalton Lead The Bengals To A Super Bowl? The Numbers Say Yes He Can

Quarterback. Many believe it to be the most important position in football. It’s one of the most crucial elements in making it to the Super Bowl.There are a select few that question whether or not Andy Dalton can lead the Bengals to a Super Bowl. I believe he can and here are the numbers that suggest why courtesy of PointAfter.

For this segment, I decided to compare Dalton with two quarterbacks who have recently made Super Bowl appearances: Matt Ryan and Russell Wilson. The following graphs will show a comparison of each of the quarterbacks up to their sixth season. Obviously, Russell Wilson has only played for five seasons so keep that in mind.

Passing Yards Over Time

As you can see, Dalton ascended higher than both Ryan and Wilson in his 1^st three seasons. Dalton shockingly dipped in 2015, but remember he was injured during that season and missed time. In 2016, Dalton is very close to where Matt Ryan was in his 6^th year and exactly where Russell Wilson was in his 5^th year.

Career Passing Yards Per Game

In passing yards per game over time, Dalton shined early then dropped a bit, but regained his form in his 5^th and 6^th seasons.  In 2016, Dalton appeared to finish in line with Russell Wilson’s 4^th season. This is a season is which Wilson threw for a higher rate than the previous year in which the Seahawks went to the Super Bowl.

Career Passing TDs/Ints

Andy also stacks up similarly to Ryan and Wilson in his 5^th season and seems as if he would’ve eclipsed 30 touchdowns without injury. 2013 was a good year for touchdowns, but bad in terms of turnovers. Within the last two seasons, Dalton has posted back to back seasons with under 10 interceptions. This is something Matt Ryan never accomplished at this point in his career.

Passing TDs Over Time

Dalton and Russell seem to have a similar pattern here while Matt Ryan has a steady climb in production over time.

Career Completion Percentage

We can see here that Dalton has displayed a similar completion percentage to both Ryan and Wilson over time, but has yet to approach 68% during a season.

Career Passer Rating

Dalton’s ascension in years 5 & 6 shows he had an equal or higher passer rating than Ryan at this point in Ryan’s career

Career Rushing Yards Per Game

Just for kicks, I decided to throw this chart in to show how close in career rushing yards per game Dalton is to Russell Wilson.

Now, let’s take a look at Dalton’s best season 2015. Courtesy of Rotoviz’s QB Similarity Score, averages of Dalton’s season are compared to similar seasons of other NFL quarterbacks. Check out some of the elite company that Dalton is linked to below.

Dalton was matched up with plenty of quarterbacks who were able to reach the Super Bowl during their careers. Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Matt Ryan, Matt Hasselback and even Joe Flacco were all guys who made a Super Bowl appearance. I think the numbers clearly show Dalton can lead the Bengals to a Super Bowl and has potential to grow even better as a quarterback.