The Andy Dalton-led Cincinnati Bengals suffered their third straight playoff loss with Dalton under center following the team's 27-10 defeat to the San Diego Chargers on Sunday on the same day Colin Kaepernick led the San Francisco 49ers over the Green Bay Packers, which led to Bengals owner Mike Brown revealing that he wanted to draft Kaepernick over Dalton back in 2011.
Kaepernick, who brought the 49ers to the Super Bowl last season, would have been leading the Bengals to the playoffs the last three seasons if it was up to Brown, according to reports.
The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that Brown cited Kaepernick's "unusual mobility" and he preferred to take the signal caller at No.35 overall in the 2011 NFL Draft while newly hired offensive coordinator Jay Gruden pushed for Dalton.
NFL.com reports that even though Kaepernick was physically superior to Dalton he was viewed as a developmental project at the time while Dalton was considered "NFL ready."
Three years have gone by, and the Bengals have seen their playoff winless drought increase while the 49ers have found a franchise quarterback that brought them to within three points of the Super Bowl in their loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the 2013 big game.
Kaepernick went 243-for-416 (58.4 percent) for 3,197 yards with 21 touchdowns and eight interceptions this season while Dalton went 363-for-586 (61.9%) for 4,293 yards with 33 scores and 20 picks.
Through three years in the league, Kaepernick is 382-for-639 (59.8 percent) for 5,046 yards with 31 touchdowns and 11 interceptions through 32 games and 23 starts while Dalton is 992-for-1,630 (60.9 percent) for 11,360 yards with 80 scores and 49 picks through 48 starts.
But the main difference lies within the playoffs, where Dalton has lost three straight games in the postseason and Kaepernick has had four dazzling playoff performances.
Brown can't change the course of history, nor can he change the fact that Kaepernick will lead the 49ers to a Divisional Playoff matchup against the Carolina Panthers this weekend while Dalton and the Bengals wait another year to end their playoff losing streak.
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