5 Things I Learned From 2014's NFL Wild Card Round

Hue Jackson Deserves Blame

AJ Green, your best offensive weapon, was out. Jermaine Gresham, your only real option to catch passes at tight end, was sidelined, too. You have a rookie running back who was one of the most effective runners in the NFL this season.

And you let Andy Dalton drop back to pass 38 times?

Hue Jackson's offensive game plan was horrible yesterday. Jeremy Hill, the rookie running back I just mentioned, ended the game with 13 carries. 13! Regardless of game script -- which really didn't get that out of hand -- that should never, ever happen with Andy Dalton running the offense against a team that clearly stops the pass better than it defends the run.

It's amazing to me that Jackson is now going to be interviewing for head coaching gigs considering the Bengals offense finished 17th in the NFL this year, per NEP. And while folks are going to say, "But he had Andy Dalton!", keep in mind that this was the worst season Dalton's had since his rookie year. Let's not pretend he made Dalton any better.

We shouldn't have expected the Bengals to come out of Indianapolis with a victory given the key injuries on offense. But why, Hue? Why are you not going to let your star rookie take over the game in a matchup that clearly dictated that he should have?