Allen: Andy Dalton named Saints starting QB moving forward

For the fifth consecutive game – and now, for the foreseeable future – Andy Dalton will start at quarterback for the New Orleans Saints, Coach Dennis Allen said during his Wednesday’s conference call with media. Sunday, the Saints will play the Las Vegas Raiders in the Caesars Superdome.

Calling it an “offensive decision” and citing that he liked how the offense was moving the ball, Allen said, “Jameis (Winston) is back healthy. We’re going to continue with Andy.”

Dalton, in his 12th year in the NFL, started the past four games for the Saints (2-5) as Winston recovered from back and ankle injuries. Winston was listed as a full participant on Wednesday’s practice report, but Allen said Dalton will stay in the lineup as long as he’s playing well. Dalton has completed 83 of 131 passes for 946 yards with seven touchdowns and four interceptions while playing without star receiver Michael Thomas.

The Saints, who have the third-ranked offense in the NFL at 398.3 yards per game, will be trying to snap a two-game losing streak when they take on the Raiders (2-4) at noon Sunday.

New Orleans has scored 25, 39, 26 and 34 points in the four games with Dalton as starter. It’s 1-3 in those games, with one-possession losses by three, four and eight points. Two Dalton interceptions returned for touchdowns, in the final two minutes of the first half, contributed significantly to the 42-34 loss to Arizona.

Offensively, the Saints have totaled 338 yards against Minnesota, 438 against Seattle, 399 against Cincinnati and 494 against the Cardinals in their last four games. The offense currently ranks seventh in scoring, at 25 points per game.

“We’re going to continue down that road with Andy at quarterback,” Allen said.