The Bengals were fortunate enough to come away from Sunday's game without any major injuries. The most notable was Bernard Scott's leg cramps that set events into motion that eventually saw Andre Caldwell fumble the football late. Not, hating. Just saying. However, just as, if not more important, was Domata Peko being forced to leave in the third quarter after suffering "a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee", writes Geoff Hobson.
It's arguable how much of an impact Peko's absence, who is primarily known for stopping the run, affected the Bengals defense in the second half. In the fourth quarter, the Raiders only rushed the football seven times for 13 yards. Then again, Peko could have been a big contributor collapsing the pocket forcing Bruce Gradkowski to flow into Robert Geathers, Jonathan Fanene or Michael Johnson. Though, that's hardly assurance, considering most of Oakland's passing game was quick high percentage passes.
Peko is expected to return next Sunday. Other possible returns could include Evan Mathis and Keith Rivers. Geoff Hobson did write that the team plans to bring Cedric Benson back slowly. So it's debatable if they'll rush Cedric back, especially after Bernard Scott's 119-yard effort.