A backup will rise and an injured franchise quarterback might return when the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers collide at the Paul Brown Stadium this Saturday for the National Football League (NFL) Wild Card Playoffs.
The Steelers are currently dealing with an injury to their leading rusher running back DeAngelo Williams, who head coach Mike Tomlin said in a press conference Tuesday is day-to-day with a foot injury.
Because of this, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that the Steelers are preparing for Saturday's game versus Cincinnati as if backup running back Fitzgerald Toussaint will start.
Tomlin said in the conference, according to the report, "In the meanwhile, I think it's appropriate to build our plan around Toussaint and Jordan Todman, guys that have been here, guys that are healthy and guys that are willing and capable of being positive contributors to our efforts."
Pittsburgh is 1–1 in two regular season meetings with the Bengals this season, losing in their first game back in November 2015 (16–10) and winning in last month's rematch (33–20).
In the second game, Bengals franchise quarterback Andy Dalton injured his thumb which made him miss their last three regular season games.
As Dalton was nursing the thumb injury, the Bengals went with AJ McCarron as their starting quarterback and he had a 2–1 record.
But there's good news for Cincinnati as the cast on Dalton's hand was removed last Monday, according to reports, although it is uncertain if he is set to start again.
In a report by ESPN, it seems like Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis is leaning toward McCarron and in a conference said, "We're preparing for AJ McCarron to be the starting quarterback. Whether Andy's the backup or where Andy is [later in the week], we'll know down the line."
Lewis added, "Andy continues to progress well. He's doing what he's supposed to do. ... He'll be ready when he's ready."
