The Cincinnati Bengals' remaining regular season games are in jeopardy as franchise quarterback Andy Dalton fractured his right thumb in their 33–20 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers last Sunday.
Dalton was forced to leave the game in the first quarter because of the injury and he never checked backed in.
According to ESPN, Dalton was first listed as questionable to return but was later downgraded and when he came back to the sidelines was already wearing a black cast on the injured hand.
The 28-year-old finished the game completing only three of five passes for 59 yards and one interception.
In ESPN's report, it was detailed how Dalton suffered the injury after tackling Steelers defensive end Stephon Tuitt.
Dalton was aiming to make a pass to running back Giovani Bernard but Tuitt intercepted, and he quickly tackled Tuitt whose knee appeared to have made contact with his right hand which led to the injury.
After leaving the game, Dalton was replaced by backup passer AJ McCarron who completed 22 of 32 passes for 280 yards and two touchdowns, but also throwing two interceptions and was sacked thrice.
McCarron will be starting in game/s that Dalton, who is expected to return during the playoffs, will be missing because of the fractured thumb.
Dalton visited a specialist last Monday and according to reports, he will not be needing surgery for the injured right hand.
"That's about as good an outcome right now we could expect. He won't play this week and it will be up to Andy and the doctors each and every week as we do it," Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said, according to USA Today Sports.
The Bengals still have matchups versus the San Francisco 49ers (Week 15), Denver Broncos (Week 16), and the Baltimore Ravens (Week 17) before closing their regular season.
Cincinnati currently sits on top of the American Football Conference (AFC) North with a 10–3 record.
