WATCH: Atrocious Andy Dalton INT leads to Saints TD

The Cincinnati Bengals were already having a disastrous day against the New Orleans Saints. A horrid pass from Andy Dalton made things worse.

Trailing 28-7 with less than a minute to go in the first half, Cincinnati was in field goal range and in position to at least three before halftime. But on second-and-10 from the 34, Dalton put up an absolute floater. Marcus Williams made him pay, coming up with the interception and big return.

It took only one play for the Saints to make Dalton and the Bengals pay. Drew Brees found Michael Thomas on a 17-yard touchdown pass right before half.

That’s at least a 10-point swing. Williams gets credit for the pick and especially the return. Brees and Thomas also deserve praise for the touchdown pass. But this play is all about Dalton.

There was simply no need to throw that pass. New Orleans had the route covered. We understand that Cincinnati was down and needed to make something happen. But at that point in the game, that pass just didn’t need to be thrown.

Dalton has been in the league too long to make that kind of mistake.