Bengals Bytes (10/25): What to expect

TDBH: Benson Bowl is all Bengals Ced vs. Bears
Running back Cedric Bensons gets the game ball, a career-high 189 yards, the NFL rushing lead, and the last word while his Bengals get their biggest win in seven years and their most points in two seasons with today’s 45-10 victory over the Bears Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium. It is as emotional as physical with Benson’s 37 carries serving as bruising reminders to a Chicago franchise that cuts him loose three years after the Bears make him the fourth pick in the 2005 draft. He gets the most yards of any back in the NFL today on the league’s fourth biggest day of the season.

Bengals Line Highlights: Jordan Willis
It could be fun at times and it also could be difficult. Obviously you have to learn to share a lot of stuff. We would take up the attic space for rooms and then the basement as well, so it was a full house and trying to get used to sharing stuff and learning to work together on a lot of different things.

Bengals Line Highlights: A.J. Green
It gives you that balance. What we go through in that locker room from week to week and when you didn’t win, it’s tough. But when you go home and you see your family, you see your kid, they don’t judge you. You’re still dad. Coming home to my family keeps everything balanced, back to reality. When I’m in the locker room, I’m competitive. When I get home, I’m dad, softie. It’s bath time when I get home.

Top 50 Moments: An MVP is born as Anderson rebounds to lead 31-30 win over Jets
As the Bengals reminisce about the 1981 Super Bowl season, their recollections always go back to the first two games. This one at Shea Stadium in New York on a U.S. Open weekend comes a week after head coach Forrest Gregg pulls quarterback Ken Anderson in the first half of the opener at Riverfront Stadium and the Bengals down 21-0 to Seattle. Anderson watches No. 3 QB Turk Schonert leads a wild 27-21 comeback victory with backup Jack Thompson sidelined and then gets caught by surprise when Gregg names Schonert the starter against the Jets after a Labor Day session.

Bengals to Support Breast Cancer Awareness at Colts Game
The Bengals will support the NFL’s “A Crucial Catch” campaign at the Colts game on Sunday (1 p.m.) during the Breast Cancer Awareness game presented by team partner TriHealth. Survivors and caregivers will be recognized during pregame ceremonies, including the unveiling of an oversized pink ribbon on the field, courtesy of TriHealth. There will also be a presentation revealing the 2017 winner of the Marvin Lewis Community Fund Pink Football Award.

Marvin Lewis of Cincinnati Bengals on Joe Mixon's gripes -- RB needs to mature
Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, responding to Joe Mixon's comments about not getting any second-half carries against the Pittsburgh Steelers, said the rookie running back needs to grow up. "You should show maturity just like everybody else. Everybody wants to be out there all the time," Lewis told reporters Monday, according to the team's website. "But we're not going to create a run when we are down by 12 or 15 [points]. We're not going to create it."

Analysis: Steelers once again expose Bengals in 29-14 victory
For a half, the Cincinnati Bengals defense looked like the unit that rolled into the Steel City as the No. 2 ranked group in football, the terrorizers of quarterbacks and sentinels of the goal line. Unfortunately, it was in the second half of Pittsburgh’s 29-14 victory, when too much had been decided.

Cincinnati Bengals Indianapolis Colts Preview NFL Week 8
The Bengals are coming off a disappointing – and perhaps backbreaking – 29-14 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers that dropped them to 2-4 on the season. The offense played well in the first half, but not the second; the defense didn’t play well in the first half, but did in the second. The Bengals’ punting game was strong, their punt coverage unit gave up a fake that sealed the game. In other words, the Steelers once again twisted the Bengals up in knots.

2017 Opponent Scouting Report: Week 8, Bengals Offense: Knocking Out Girls On Spring Break Since 2014
On October 29, 2017 the Indianapolis Colts will take the short trip to Cincinnati. In this week eight match-up I sought to understand our opponent and get a better idea for what we’re up against. The Bengals finished 2016 with 6 wins, 9 losses, and 1 tie. The last time these two teams faced off our Colts came out victorious, winning 26 to 10 in a 2014 AFC Wildcard match up. That game featured a first quarter touchdown from Boom Herron and our boys never looked back. This time our Colts will have to face the Bengals without Luck and the majority of that 2014 roster, hopefully the result is no different this time around.

Mike Nugent, former Bengals kicker, signs with Dallas Cowboys
Mike Nugent, the Cincinnati Bengals' placekicker from 2010 to 2016 and a former Ohio State Buckeyes standout, signed Tuesday with the Dallas Cowboys, the team announced via Twitter.

AFC North Bytes

Ravens still figuring out who will be able to play receiver
According to Edward Lee of the Baltimore Sun, Ravens wide receiver Jeremy Maclin said he and teammate Breshad Perriman were “doing everything we can” to get ready to play Thursday night against the Dolphins. Maclin has missed the last two games with a shoulder injury. Perriman left the Bears game two weeks ago with a concussion. Then Mike Wallace left the Vikings game Sunday with a concussion, leaving them extremely short-handed.

Martavis Bryants Wants Trade; Mike Tomlin Says No Deal
The Steelers have Super Bowl potential. They're currently first in yard differential per game, first in Football Outsiders’ overall efficiency metric, and—obviously most importantly—second in our most recent Power Poll. Through seven games, they've been the most balanced team in the league, the only one in Football Outsiders' top five on both sides of the ball. The defense in particular has improved significantly. It held the Bengals to 19 second-half yards last week, and ranks first in offensive/special teams points allowed per game (up from 11th last year) with a largely anonymous secondary holding opposing QBs to the fourth lowest passer rating (14th in 2016).

Is the loss of Joe Thomas much more than a passing concern for the Browns?
Cleveland sports fans have questions about the Browns, Cavaliers and Indians. Like: Are Kevin Hogan, Connor Shaw, Colt McCoy and Cody Kessler the same guy? Will LeBron James be the Cavs MVP again, or is there a chance it will be the team orthopedic? Did that really happen to the Indians? Again? Without fans being able to blame Joe Buck? We have answers (sort of).

Random Bytes

Dwight Freeney, Seahawks Agree to Contract
The Seattle Seahawks and veteran defensive end Dwight Freeney agreed to a contract Tuesday, where they'll hope he can provide some pass-rush help. Freeney, 37, visited the Seahawks on Tuesday. He last played for the Atlanta Falcons in 2016, recording 10 tackles and three sacks.

Gridiron Heights, Season 2, Ep 8: Is Joe Flacco Elite? We Finally Have an Answer
Is Joe Flacco elite? No. Of course not. That can't be a thing anyone outside of Maryland actually thinks. Everyone must accept this obvious reality now that the Baltimore Ravens quarterback ranks last in yards per attempt (5.31) among all qualified passers, with just five passing touchdowns this season. Just to be sure, Bleacher Report closed the book on this strange dispute in the latest episode of Gridiron Heights.

Bruce Arians Denies Report He Intends to Leave Cardinals After 2017 Season
Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians refuted the rumor he plans to retire from coaching at the end of the 2017 season. Arians tweeted Tuesday his focus is firmly on their next game, a Nov. 5 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers