Marvin Lewis: 'Andy Dalton not to blame for Cincinnati Bengals playoff defeat'

Marvin Lewis has insisted that Andy Dalton was not to blame for the Cincinnati Bengals' defeat in the wildcard round of the NFL playoffs earlier this year.

The quarterback threw two interceptions and was sacked three times during the team's 27-10 defeat to the San Diego Chargers in January.

The head coach told SI.com: "Everybody wants to blame our quarterback for everything, but in that game against San Diego it was both offense and defense.

"We didn't stop them on third down and get off the field, our great little running back [Giovani Bernard] fumbled the football, and we didn't make any plays on special teams or turn the ball over on defense. It's easy to point at one guy, but baloney, the football team didn't play as well as we needed to win."

The Bengals have lost in the wildcard round in their last five appearances in the playoffs.