Bengals QB Andy Dalton Expected To Miss The Rest Of The Season With Thumb Injury

USA Today

The Cincinnati Bengals may have suffered a devastating blow to their hopes of competing for a Super Bowl title in the loss to the division rival Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. Along with losing their third game of the year, the Bengals appear to have lost quarterback Andy Dalton for the rest of the season.

According to Coley Harvey of ESPN, the thumb injury Dalton suffered in the loss will likely end his season:

Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton is likely to miss the rest of the season because of a right thumb injury, team sources told ESPN’s Bob Holtzman.

The Bengals have been one of the best all-around teams in the league this season. Cincinnati has been firing on all cylinders since routing the Oakland Raiders in Week 1 on the road at O.co Coliseum and were able to stay undefeated winning the first eight games of the season.

Heading into Week 14, the Bengals were hoping to take another step closer to clinching the AFC North division title. Unfortunately, instead of taking a step forward and beginning their preparation for the playoffs, the team has taken two steps back by potentially losing their star quarterback.

With Dalton likely on the shelf for the rest of the way, the Bengals will continue to turn to backup AJ McCarron to shoulder the load under center. Although Cincinnati will still be a force to be reckoned with, the once-dominant Bengals will have a tough challenge without their leader on the offense.

The Bengals will go on the road in Week 15 to face the San Francisco 49ers. This matchup with the 49ers was initially thought to be an easy win for Cincinnati, but the early spread says otherwise. According to Sportsbook.ag, San Francisco is only +4 underdogs as of Sunday meaning oddsmakers may not be all that confident in McCarron.