Saints need to bench Jameis Winston and start Andy Dalton

The New Orleans Saints lost a winnable game on Sunday and Jameis Winston no longer deserves the benefit of the doubt. The former No. 1 overall pick struggled mightily in the Saints' 22-14 loss to the then-winless Carolina Panthers and Dennis Allen's insistence on sticking with Winston cost the black and gold what could have been their second win of the year.

Winston's numbers didn't look bad. He finished the game with 353 yards passing, one touchdown, and two interceptions while only getting sacked once. Looking at those numbers, one might think "Oh it wasn't that bad for Winston" but this is an example of where the stats simply don't tell the whole story.

Time and time again, Winston missed wide-open receivers and instead tried to force the ball. In the first quarter, he missed a wide-open Adam Trautman that could have netted the Saints a first down, and plays like that are what fans will point to when it comes to making a change. Well, that and the fact that the Saints were scoreless entering the fourth quarter.

Jameis Winston needs to be benched in favor of Andy Dalton

At this point, the Saints should know that Winston isn't going to be the guy. He's struggled mightily in the first three games and New Orleans is lucky that he found lightning in a bottle during the fourth quarter in Week 1 because otherwise this team would be 0-3 and their season would already be sunk.

Dalton might not be the quarterback of the future but this offense is desperate for a change that can spark momentum and Dalton could provide that. Cam Jordan, who is normally the heart and soul of the team, didn't even stick up for Winston following the game. He noted that he was only going to talk about stuff that he can control. That doesn't appear to be close to an endorsement for Winston.

I also included a tweet above where Jono Barnes notes how the Saints never really seemed to believe that Winston was the guy. They went hard after Deshaun Watson despite the allegations made against him, were linked to Russell Wilson, and went out and signed Andy Dalton, one of the best backup quarterbacks in the league.

The Saints appear to have swung and missed on Winston but it's not too late to make a change. Dalton isn't the long-term answer, no, but he can get this team back on the right track and that can't be understated after how the first three games have gone.

What do you think, Saints fans? Should the team make the switch from Jameis Winston to Andy Dalton?