A change was considered, head coach Dennis Allen said, but in the end the Saints' starting quarterback will continue to be Andy Dalton.
The New Orleans head coach announced the decision on a conference call with reporters Wednesday afternoon after the team's practice. Allen said he discussed the decision with the staff and spoke with both quarterbacks this week regarding the decision.
"We feel like right now that Andy is the direction that we want to go," Allen said.
The proclamation comes just shy of four weeks removed from the initial announcement to make the QB change permanent. Dalton has been starting since a Week 4 loss to the Vikings in London, but he was technically the backup up until a shutout win over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 8.
The caveat at that point came with the offensive production. Should the offense continue to roll as a top-10 unit, the team would stand pat. That was the case in a 24-0 dismantling of the Raiders, but it has been anything but the past two weeks with 27-13 and 20-10 losses at the hands of the Ravens and Steelers, respectively.
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Dalton has completed 36 of 56 passes for 384 yards, 2 TDs and 3 interceptions over that span. The team is also dealing with injury woes along the offensive line, finishing Week 10 with three starters missing (Erik McCoy, Andrus Peat and James Hurst).
Jameis Winston started the first three weeks, playing through significant back injuries and an ankle injury in Weeks 2 and 3, both losses. Allen indicated that he is not 100% healthy and likely won't be the remainder of the season, but he is healthy enough to serve as a backup on game days.
Dalton's next chance to get the offense rolling again will come at the Caesars Superdome against the L.A. Rams, a team that's suffering through similar injury and production woes.
The Saints are 3-7, but retain a glimmer of hope in an NFC South that doesn't feature a team with a winning record.
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