How long will Andy Dalton be out?

Andy Dalton left Week 14 with a hand injury — so how long will he be out?

The absolute last thing that the Cincinnati Bengals needed was for Andy Dalton to suffer an injury that takes him out of the action this late in the playoff push. The Bengals went full Bungles on Sunday though when they lost their starting quarterback int he first half of their game against the Steelers.

Dalton left after trying to make a tackle inside of the red zone  after a turnover, and ended up injuring his thumb. While a thumb injury isn’t fatal, this happened to be on Dalton’s throwing hand, which prompted him to leave the game immediately.

When he emerge from the locker room, there was a cast on his hand — which is bad news.

Bengals fans are now left having to watch A.J. McCarron guide the team to the postseason as Dalton’s hand appears to be something to be very concerned about moving forward. If Dalton’s thumb is broken, he’ll need at least 2-3 weeks before he can play again, and might even need the rest of the season to rest up and get healthy.

The best case scenario for the Bengals is that they earn a first-round bye and Dalton has the rest of the season until then to get healthy. It’s always risky throwing a quarterback into the mix after he’s been out for that long, but Cincinnati cannot afford to let this hand injury derail their season — which was already fragile to begin with given the not so happy recent history the team has in the postseason.