Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton suffered a broken thumb on his throwing hand Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He did not return to action, at which point rumors circulated that Dalton would miss the rest of the year, postseason included.
There is at least some good news on the Dalton front a day after he suffered said injury.
The week-to-week status is somewhat optimistic. It will all depend on how Dalton recovers from the broken thumb. Considering it is on his throwing hand, the reasonable expectation here has to be that he will be questionable to play when the playoffs come calling. At the very least, we can potentially rule him out for the final three games of the regular season.
Following the team's loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday, Cincinnati finds itself at 10-3 on the season and as the No. 2 seed in the AFC.
With Dalton out, A.J. McCarron will be under center for the foreseeable future, starting this upcoming week against a bad San Francisco 49ers team. Cincinnati will need to win that game in order to have a realistic shot at a first-round bye, which would give Dalton an extra week of rest before the divisional round of the playoffs. McCarron threw two interceptions in Sunday's loss, including a pick-six.