For about 22 minutes Sunday at the Meadowlands, where the Bengals lost 15-14 to the New York Jets, Cincinnati's quarterback question appeared to clear for the rest of the season. But in the instant it took for Akili Smith's left hamstring to tear and end his year, quarterback again became a murky place, a position that coach Dick LeBeau did little to clarify Monday.

        LeBeau said he isn't sure who will start Sunday at Baltimore, Jon Kitna or Scott Mitchell.

        Asked if Kitna would start if healthy, LeBeau said, “We'll look at that as we go through the week. He's got all of our snaps. If I think there's a better chance for us to win with Scott, Scott would start.”

        Smith was declared out for the season Monday with a hamstring injury so severe it might require surgery to re-attach the muscle group to the bone.

        “It appears surgery is a likely option,” trainer Paul Sparling said of Smith, who late Monday saw Dr. Angelo Colosimo and would likely travel to Chapel Hill, N.C., to consult with hamstring specialist Dr. Bill Garrett.

        “I was looking forward to these last four games just to lay it on the line and show everybody — not just the organization, but the whole world — what Akili Smith can do,” said Smith, who accounted for 50 yards of an 81-yard touchdown drive that took 20 plays and consumed 12 minutes of the first quarter.

        Mission accomplished, sort of.

        “Akili showed us he could handle himself,” said Bengals president Mike Brown, who drafted Smith in 1999. “The problem was, just about the time he began to make us very excited, was the time it came to an abrupt end.”

        But Brown saw enough he liked to say that Smith was unlikely to be exposed to the Houston Texans in the upcoming expansion draft.

        “I think he will be back,” said Brown, who has invested $14.8 million in signing bonuses for Smith ($10.8 million) and Kitna.

        Smith's concerns were more immediate the day after he was 4-for-6 passing for 35 yards and ran for another 20.

        “I'm just praying I don't have to go under the knife,” he said.

        Regardless of whether surgery is performed, Smith is looking at six months before he's fully healed, Sparling said.

        The injury to Kitna has complicated the quarterback position.

        Mitchell could get the start because Kitna is still recovering from a strained ligament in the middle finger of his throwing hand, an injury that LeBeau said probably affected Kitna's throwing late in the Jets game.

        Not so, said Kitna, who was then asked if he thought LeBeau was trying to cover for the three-interception game, which gave Kitna 17 picks for the season.

        “I don't need anybody to take the heat off me,” he said. “I'm a grown boy. I'll stand up and accept the things I did. We weren't able to get it done down the stretch.”

        Kitna threw three interceptions, including a meaningless Hail Mary pass at the end of the first half. But the other two came after the Jets had rallied from a 14-3 deficit at the start of the fourth quarter to take a 15-14 lead.

        Kitna is approaching a major contract incentive that would prevent his base salary for next season from falling from $1.5 million to $500,000.

        He has to play 80 percent of the offensive snaps to earn the bigger base each season in his four-year contract. Kitna has played 49 of the team's 52 quarters so far. With three games remaining, Kitna stands at an estimated 77 percent of the projected number of total offensive snaps for the season.

        LeBeau also said the organization is discussing whether to sign a third quarterback, possibly Scott Covington, a Bengal the previous two seasons who was waived in September, or to go with Kitna and Mitchell and use wide receiver Peter Warrick as an emergency quarterback.

        GETTING BETTER: LeBeau implied Sunday that his team is improving, and Monday at his news conference he said as much.

        “We are a team that is in a transitional period,” he said. “The game is not over until the fourth quarter's last play. We had ourselves in perfect position.”

        The Bengals led 14-3 after three quarters against the Jets at the Meadowlands.

        “Where we are right now is we are competitive weekly,” he said, “but we are not getting over the top.”

        The Bengals' last three losses have been by a total of eight points.

        INJURY UPDATE: Linebacker Steve Foley is questionable for Sunday against the Ravens with back spasms.

        Defensive end Justin Smith has a hip pointer, and may be limited for a couple of days but should be fine to play Sunday.

        Linebacker Takeo Spikes has a mild mid-back strain and may be limited for a day or two. And running back Corey Dillon's dislocated finger is improved.

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