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After three abysmal performances by Ryan Finley, the Bengals have been left with no choice but to make a change.
On Monday, head coach Zac Taylor revealed the Bengals are now going with Andy Dalton at quarterback.
"It's in the best interest of the team to do this." -- Taylor
— Laurel Pfahler (@LaurelPfahler) November 25, 2019
That means Dalton will get the starting nod when the Bengals host the Jets in Week 13, which is probably the second-most winnable game left on the schedule behind only the Dolphins in Week 16.
"We just want a win, and that veteran presence he has will certainly be helpful." Notes they're facing a veteran DC this week, the #Jets' Gregg Williams, and Dalton will help with that. Also says Ryan Finley still has a bright future in Cincinnati.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) November 25, 2019
While the Bengals clearly need to move on from Dalton, they still don’t want to finish the season at 0-16, so it makes sense for them to roll with their veteran signal-caller.
However, this does open the door for a disaster scenario where Dalton plays well enough over the final month for the Bengals to decide to stick with him and bypass on taking a quarterback in the 2020 NFL Draft. That’s the last thing this franchise needs, but with Mike Brown, it’s going to be a very realistic scenario now.