The Cincinnati Bengals will officially be without quarterback Andy Dalton on Saturday night as they host the Pittsburgh Steelers in a wild-card playoff game. And the Steelers will be without a key player too, running back DeAngelo Williams.
The question then becomes, which injury will affect the wild-card playoff game more?
The Bengals ruled out Dalton, which isn't a big surprise. Dalton got the cast off his broken hand on Monday, and a recovery to play by Saturday was unrealistic. AJ McCarron will be the starting quarterback on Saturday night.
On Friday afternoon, the Steelers officially ruled out Williams, who has done a great job as their starter since Le'Veon Bell was lost for the season.
While McCarron has played pretty well in place of Dalton, the Steelers shouldn't go into Saturday's game with much confidence in their running back situation. Fitzgerald Toussaint, who has 24 career carries over two seasons for 54 yards, would likely replace Williams. Jordan Todman, a journeyman with a little more success than Toussaint over his career but has just four carries this season for Pittsburgh, is another option.
This seems similar to last year's Steelers wild-card game, when they had to play without Bell. Josh Harris and Ben Tate were thrown into the lineup, and neither played well. A one-dimensional Steelers offense lost 30-17 to the Baltimore Ravens.
The Bengals can't be thrilled to have a quarterback who has just three career starts, but at least McCarron has played in big games before at Alabama. McCarron has been the Bengals quarterback since Dec. 13, when Dalton broke his thumb against the Steelers.
Neither team will be at full strength on Saturday night. We'll see which key injury has the biggest effect on the best playoff matchup of wild-card weekend.
Playoff previews: KC-HOU (1:00), PIT-CIN (11:00), SEA-MIN (24:00), GB-WAS (35:00)
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