NFL teams
Coley Harvey, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

A.J. Green sustains concussion

NFL, Cincinnati Bengals

PITTSBURGH -- The Cincinnati Bengals will be keeping a close eye this coming week on Pro Bowl receiver A.J. Green after he suffered a head injury near the end of Sunday night's 27-17 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Bengals diagnosed the injury as a concussion and put Green under concussion protocol after the game, meaning he was made unavailable to reporters.

Coach Marvin Lewis said he had no update on Green when asked by reporters to provide one.

By rule, no timetable for a return can be placed on head injuries. It depends upon the individual player and how much his symptoms dissipate after the various tests he must endure in the days leading up to a game.

Green will be tested by both team doctors and independent neurologists all the way until the morning of Sunday's wild-card playoff game at the Indianapolis Colts.

Green sustained the injury when he took a hard shot to the head after losing a fumble with about four minutes remaining. The turnover helped set up the score that put the game away for the Steelers.

The injury to the fourth-year wide out came at the end of a 17-yard, first-down reception that would have put the Bengals inside the Steelers' 30. Almost instantly, the ball was ripped loose by Steelers cornerback Antwon Blake. A second after that, safety Mike Mitchell hit Green in the head as the receiver turned around empty-handed.

Four plays later, Pittsburgh extended its lead to 27-17 when Ben Roethlisberger found Antonio Brown for a 63-yard touchdown pass. Brown caught the pass just out of Dre Kirkpatrick's reach before juking past safety George Iloka for the score.

Green's injury comes six days after he suffered a deep biceps bruise when he took a helmet to his right arm in the Bengals' Monday night win over the Denver Broncos. It also comes at the end of an injury-plagued year that started with a toe injury that forced him to miss parts of four early games.

Six of Green's eight catches Sunday came on the final two drives he was part of. With 82 yards, he got double the yards he needed to surpass the 1,000-yard receiving plateau for a fourth straight season. He, Calvin Johnson and Vincent Jackson are the only receivers to top 1,000 yards in each season since 2011.

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