Hue Jackson adamantly defends Andy Dalton; Says he is key to offense

One of the common themes in the Bengals' losses this year has been the struggles of the offense. They've scored a combined 20 points in three losses, and failed to score a touchdown in two of them.

The play of quarterback Andy Dalton has been a big issue, as he's completed just 43 of 95 passes (45%) for 416 yards with two touchdowns and three picks.

However, offensive coordinator Hue Jackson continues to hitch his wagon to Dalton. Following a woefully-bad performance against the Browns on Thursday Night Football, Jackson still believes Dalton is the key to this offense going forward.

"Now’s the time not to panic," said Jackson."I think the first thing is you got to have total belief in yourself and in your preparation and who you are and what you are. I believe Andy has that whole-heartedly. I don’t think that’s not the case. You have to go back to work and go rally your teammates, your offensive mates to go get this thing on a consistent basis to be what you know it should be.

"There are times they look very good, you guys know it and have written it, have talked about it. There are times we’ve looked very, very bad. Last night was one of those times. He is the centerpiece of it all. I’m not running from that. I don’ think he’s running from that. He’s the key. He’ll bounce back."