The NFL season was going too well for the Cincinnati Bengals, too smoothly for a franchise that hasn't won a playoff game since the 1990 season. While star players on other teams fell to injury, the Bengals navigated the first three-quarters of the season relatively unscathed, and stayed on track to potentially become the AFC's top-seeded team.
But Sunday, adversity came knocking.
Quarterback Andy Dalton, with a chance to clinch the AFC North by beating Pittsburgh at home, suffered a broken thumb on his throwing hand while tackling a defensive lineman who had picked off his shovel pass.