INDIANAPOLIS -- Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson said during a candid moment at the NFL combine Thursday that he didn't do enough to get quarterback Andy Dalton to improve this past season.

"I don't think I did a good enough job of getting him to where I think he needs to be," Jackson said, meeting with Bengals media. "That's one of my biggest responsibilities in my mind this upcoming year."

Andy Dalton finished the 2014 season the same way he did the first four years he's been in the NFL: with a first-round playoff exit. Nick Cammett/Diamond Images/Getty Images

Dalton, the starter who was signed to a six-year contract extension worth nearly $115 million last August, is coming off one of the worst single-season statistical performances of his career. He completed his fewest touchdown passes (19) and threw his second-most interceptions (17). He also had an almost 1,000-yard drop-off in passing yards after setting a career record with nearly 4,300 yards the year before.

Then there's the fact that Dalton finished the 2014 season the same way he has the first four years he's been in the NFL: with a first-round playoff exit.

"The hard part for him is that he's been in the playoffs every year," Jackson said. "The expectation is that one of those days you're going to pull through and come out on the other side of that. When is it going to be?"

That's the multimillion-dollar question Bengals fans have been asking since 1991, when the franchise last won a postseason game.

Jackson contends his relationship with Dalton is "as strong as it's ever been." But the assistant acknowledged that both he and Dalton have much to do before the fall in order to get the quarterback to play well all the time. Those who watched Dalton's 9-for-20 performance in the closing minutes of the Pro Bowl might consider it a mountain of work.

"I really believe it's there," Jackson said. "But the consistency of doing it week in and week out, the pressure of doing it versus some very good football teams week in and week out is the next step for us. I know a lot of people say, 'Well, how can that be? You're heading into your fifth year?' Well, sometimes that's a process for a quarterback."

That "process" Dalton has endured has included a change at offensive coordinator, and having to overcome injuries at key pass-catching positions. In January's wild-card round playoff loss to the Colts, he was without receivers A.J. Green and Marvin Jones and tight ends Tyler Eifert and Jermaine Gresham.

"He's had to adapt, we've had to adapt," Jackson said. "Now hopefully we can get this thing back and get a great offseason again and get this thing and finish it the right way."