Grading Andy Dalton's performance in Week 12 loss to 49ers

The New Orleans Saints were shut out by the San Francisco 49ers and sit at 4-8 on the year. Andy Dalton wasn't awful in this one and it was a case of doing the best one could in a lousy situation.

With all of that said, Dalton wasn't setting the world on fire by any means. He finished the game going 18-of-29 for 204 yards. He didn't throw any touchdowns or interceptions and was sacked one time.

This was a disgusting game for the entire Saints offense but let's take some time to grade the Red Rifle for his efforts in NOLA's first shutout loss since 2002.

What grade does Andy Dalton deserve for Week 12 performance?

I'll be honest here -- Nothing was going the offense's way on Sunday and it's hard to really pinpoint how much of that is Dalton's fault. Juwan Johnson dropped some catchable balls, Chris Olave had a nice catch that should have set the Saints up in the red zone but it didn't because the refs don't know what a catch is, and Alvin Kamara fumbled twice. I can't give Dalton an F because so much of what went wrong was out of his hands.

Dalton also somehow led the offense in rushing yards with 21, which goes to show you what kind of game it was for this team offensively. He did the best he could in a bad situation.

With all of that said, however, Dalton has a job to do as the quarterback and he didn't do enough. I'm not going to give him an awful grade because a lot around him went awry but he's not getting a favorable grade either. Let's go with a C- for the Red Rifle this week.

What grade do you think Dalton deserves?