When Antwan Odom went down, it was bad news. When Domata Peko went down, it could have been disastrous. Luckily, the Bengals didn't have two starters on the defensive line fall to injury for the season. Unluckily, the Bengals could very easily be without Peko heading into this weekend against the Chicago Bears. The defensive tackle injured his knee against the Houston Texans and didn't practice on Wednesday.
“Just stretched out a couple of ligaments on my knee,” he said. “I felt good walking around. It was a little scary at first, but nothing major.”
As Joe Reedy (and or John Erardi) point(s) out, if Peko can't go then Pat Sims will get the nod. Sims, who has started three games in place of an injured Tank Johnson, actually leads all defensive tackles with 18 tackles on the season. Antwan Odom's 19 tackles is all that's in the way for Sims leading the entire defensive front. Sims did show up on the practice report but fully participated in practice.
As for Odom's replacement, all signs point to Jonathan Fanene getting the start. Fanene is second on the team with three sacks, including the last two games against the Ravens and Texans.