The Cincinnati Bengals had a great run in the previous season, but that was derailed when franchise quarterback Andy Dalton suffered a thumb injury back in December, which prevented him from throwing a pass since. 

Dalton sustained the injury in a Week 14 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers and shared with ESPN on Wednesday that since then, he has not thrown a football. 

Cincinnati thrived under Dalton's leadership, starting the season with eight consecutive victories and was an early Super Bowl favorite. 

Unfortunately, the thumb injury limited Dalton to only 13 games, as he was also unable to play in the Bengals' Wild Card Playoffs matchup versus the Steelers, in which they were defeated 18–16. 

Dalton said in ESPN's report, "Not throwing yet but will soon. Just being conservative with my hand and waiting for it to be officially 100 percent before I start up."

In 13 starting stints last season, the 28-year-old quarterback completed 255-of-386 passes for 3,250 yards and 25 touchdowns, only throwing seven interceptions. 

Dalton would have been a strong candidate for the National Football League's (NFL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the season if he had the chance to finish the regular season. 

ESPN also reported that to work on his throws, Dalton will allot time in the offseason to be with throwing coaches Tom House and Adam Dedeaux who have helped him in the past two seasons. 

Dalton believes by March his hand is at a hundred percent and that is also the time he heads to California to work with the coaches. 

The Bengals had a lot of championship promise as the season progressed but Dalton's injury led to the team again getting eliminated early.

This year's postseason saw Cincinnati lost in the Wild Card Playoffs for the fifth consecutive season. 

The Bengals finished the regular season leading the American Football Conference (AFC) North with a 12–14 record.