Bengals OC says AJ McCarron won't 'hand it off 70 times'
By Mike Batista
AJ McCarron will call the signals Sunday when the Bengals visit the 49ers, and offensive coordinator Hue Jackson says that McCarron won’t be a game manager.
Jackson told the Cincinnati Enquirer that the Bengals’ offense won’t change just because the backup quarterback is starting.
Andy Dalton will miss Sunday’s game with a fractured thumb, and according to NFL.com he could be week-to-week after that.
The Bengals should let McCarron air it out if that’s what’s needed to win the game, because it’s become apparent in the NFL this season that a team is only as good as its backup quarterback.
The Steelers, who beat the Bengals Sunday, have had to play a few games without Ben Roethlisberger. The Broncos, Colts, Texans and Eagles also are in playoff contention despite needing the services of their backup quarterbacks this season. The Cowboys haven’t been so fortunate.
History is not with A.J. McCarron nor The @Bengals : The last Alabama QB to win an NFL game? Jeff Rutledge in 1987.
— trey wingo (@wingoz) December 15, 2015
The Bengals (10-3) are in the best position of any team that’s lost its starting quarterback this season. They just have to win one more game to clinch the AFC North and get a home playoff game. Even if they lose their three remaining games they have a 99 percent chance of making the playoffs according to MakeNFLPlayoffs.com.
A first-round bye is still in play, too. The Steelers host the Broncos (10-3) Sunday and then the Bengals go to Denver in Week 16. If McCarron gets valuable game experience in San Francisco, he’ll be better prepared for the Broncos than he would be if he were wearing a ballcap the week before.
If the Bengals can capture the No. 2 seed, they’d circumvent the wild-card round that has spelled doom for them over the past four seasons.
And Dalton would get an extra week to heal.
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