2011 season Andy Dalton

dalton @ 2012 pro bowl

after dalton drafted cincinnati bengals, there speculation on whether dalton or veteran bruce gradkowski start @ quarterback. carson palmer, first overall draft pick in 2003 nfl draft, demanded traded or released, , traded later in season oakland raiders. on june 29, 2011, bengals signed dalton four-year, $5.21 million rookie contract $2.29 million signing bonus , $4.02 million guaranteed.

on august 8, 2011, before first pre-season game versus detroit lions, bengals head coach marvin lewis released first depth chart per nfl rules, noted meant little. depth chart had dalton listed first-string quarterback, followed gradkowski.

dalton s first nfl regular season start came on september 11, 2011, on road against cleveland browns. dalton, in 1 half of play before leaving game due injury, completed 10 of 15 pass attempts 81 yards , 1 touchdown, posting passer rating of 102.4. bengals won game, 27–17, dalton s first divisional afc north victory first win against divisional rival browns. dalton s second game on on road, against denver broncos. despite 24–22 loss, dalton led comeback, completing 19 of 29 pass attempts 280 yards , 2 touchdowns in second half alone, , achieving passer rating of 107.0 game. bengals head coach marvin lewis later noted during denver game when realized bengals had quarterback of future. in 27–17 victory against indianapolis colts on october 16, 2011, dalton completed 25 of 32 passes 264 yards , 1 touchdown. in game, dalton had season-high 78.1 completion percentage , 111.5 passer rating.

on november 3, 2011, dalton named nfl offensive rookie of month october. dalton led bengals 4–0 record 909 yards passing , 6 touchdowns in month. dalton threw 217 yards , season-high 3 touchdowns no interceptions against tennessee titans in comeback 24–17 victory on november 6, earning him pepsi nfl rookie of week honors. on november 27, dalton passed 270 yards , touchdown 105.6 passer rating in comeback 23–20 victory on cleveland browns, again winning rookie of week. game featured 51-yard strike dalton a.j. green 1:08 remaining in fourth quarter, setting bengals game-winning field goal. end of season, dalton had led bengals 9–7 record , berth in nfl playoffs.

on january 7, 2012, bengals faced t. j. yates-led houston texans in wild-card round of nfl playoffs. game marked first time in nfl playoff history 2 rookie quarterbacks started in same game against each other. dalton completed on 64 percent of passes had 3 turnovers texans won game, 31–10.

during rookie season, dalton had 4 wins featuring fourth-quarter comebacks (vs. buffalo, @ jacksonville, @ tennessee, , vs. cleveland). became first quarterback in nfl history not drafted in first round start 16 games of rookie season. dalton became 1 of 5 rookie quarterbacks on 3,000 passing yards , @ least 20 touchdown passes, joining fellow rookie cam newton , peyton manning, dan marino, , charlie conerly.

at conclusion of season, dalton received emerging player award nfl players association during nflpa pulse awards. other nominees award carolina panthers quarterback cam newton, new orleans saints tight end jimmy graham, new england patriots tight end rob gronkowski, , detroit lions defensive tackle ndamukong suh.

dalton named pro bowl alternate in first year, , added afc pro bowl roster after new england patriots won afc championship, forcing tom brady withdraw. dalton , newton became first pair of rookie quarterbacks make pro bowl in same season. during 2012 pro bowl, dalton threw 99 yards , 2 touchdowns passer rating of 152.1.