Jim Owczarski

jowczarski@enquirer.com

Cincinnati Bengals starting quarterback Andy Dalton met with doctors on Monday afternoon for another evaluation of the fracture in his right thumb, and while the 28-year-old hoped the cast immobilizing that finger would be removed Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said he would not share the results of that evaluation on Monday.

So, as of Monday, the team is preparing for the Steelers as if AJ McCarron will start the wildcard round against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday night at Paul Brown Stadium.

"We have to go into the week, obviously, regardless of Andy's status, right now we're going to into at least the early part of the week preparing with AJ," Lewis said.

"It's important for the football team."

Sunday marked the three-week point since Dalton fractured the thumb on Dec. 13 against the Steelers. But even Dalton wasn't sure how long it would take him to feel comfortable gripping and throwing a ball after having his hand casted for about a month.

"I'm doing more strengthening and making sure my conditioning's there, running and cardio and things like that," Dalton said Friday. "The footwork and stuff I should have down by now. That's muscle memory. But I'm just trying to keep doing whatever I can."

The Bengals will start the week thinking McCarron will have to lead the organization to its first playoff victory since the 1990 season. McCarron will be making his fourth straight start and second appearance against the Steelers.

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"I think the whole team, the whole offense, is going to step up for this challenge and really prepare hard this week," McCarron said Sunday. "This is a great group of guys we have; guys want to win games. They want to work hard. It's been a fun year. We definitely come to work this week and get ready to go."

In his three starts, and four essentially complete games considering he played three quarters against Pittsburgh in relief, McCarron has completed 66.1 percent of his passes for 832 yards and six touchdowns against two interceptions.

He has not thrown an interception since the Steelers game, and his only other turnover was the game-ending fumble in overtime in Denver last Monday.

"We felt good about his decision making in his three (starts)," Lewis said of McCarron. "He's progressed but each and every time we come out here its a new opportunity. It's part of the plan. It's part of the makeup. It's what our quarterback has to do."

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