Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton suffered a fractured thumb in his throwing hand during Sunday's loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers and is uncertain how long he will be out.
Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said Dalton will miss next week's game against San Francisco but acknowledged he did not know whether the quarterback will miss any additional time.
"I hurt my thumb," Dalton said. "They told me there is a fracture in there."
Dalton, who will see a specialist Monday, left the game in the first quarter and did not return. After initially being declared questionable to return, Dalton was downgraded moments later and returned to the sideline with a black cast around his right hand. AJ McCarron took over and seems on pace for a start in Week 15. It's a downgrade for the Bengal WRs, even though McCarron did connect with AJ Green on a long TD. TE Tyler Eifert was forced to leave the game with a concussion, so the Bengals could lean on the run game a bit more until they can get healthy.