Bengals Bytes (9/12): Returning fire

TDBH: Myers, Bacon fashion old school win for new old school coach’s debut
In Tiger Johnson’s first game the Bengals supply a 17-7 Opening Day victory today over Denver worthy of their 1950s NFL offensive lineman head coach. With old reliable Charlie Joiner in San Diego and first-round pick Billy Brooks on the sideline since the second quarter with a hip pointer, hardscrabble 10-year veteran wide receiver Chip Myers comes off the bench for five catches and 88 yards and the winning touchdown on a towering 27-yard pass from quarterback Ken Anderson with 10:12 left in the game before 53,464 at Riverfront Stadium. Anderson closes the scoring seven minutes later on a six-yard touchdown pass to reserve tight end Bruce Coslet as the three future NFL offensive coordinators collaborate to solve the Broncos’ vaunted 3-4 defense in the fourth quarter.

Jones returns with fire
Bengals cornerback Adam Jones is back from his one-game NFL suspension for Thursday night’s game against the Texans (8:25 p.m.-Cincinnati’s Channel 5, NFL Network) at Paul Brown Stadium and in the not exactly breaking news department he’s bringing an edge they’ll need in the wake of Sunday’s docile 20-0 home loss to the Ravens. If you thought there was a little extra something missing, like attitude, confidence, swag, emotion, whatever you want to call it, you can count on Jones to bring it in droves.

Lewis News Conference Transcript 9/11
When I watched the film last evening, there were some positives out there. It didn’t seem like it last evening, but there were some good things that happened. And, obviously, there were a lot of things we have to do better as far as execution goes. That’s the disappointing thing. We can’t turn the football over. When you really look at the tape and consider the ‘why’ and ‘what,’ we know we can’t (turn the ball over). Defensively, for the most part, we did a pretty good job throughout most of the football game. We had a couple plays (that we didn’t like), and obviously the big touchdown right before halftime was huge. With third downs on defense, we need to minimize those. We have to do a better job of stopping them on third downs and not letting drives continue. We had a couple of them that were extended by penalties on defense, like the one with the field goal there in the third quarter.

Bengals Legends Honored at Texans Game
The Bengals take on the Texans at Paul Brown Stadium on Thursday (8:25 p.m.) in a game that kicks off the NFL’s Thursday Night Football package and marks the only time this season the Bengals will wear Color Rush jerseys. Fifth Third Bank will make game day a Fifth Third Better by handing out orange rally towels with the 50th season logo to all fans at the game as they enter the gates, while supplies last.

Slants and screens: Lawson vs. Watson; X-factor;Tip drill; Dre OK; Ross, C.J., Williams back to full
The Texans rolled out 21 players on their injury report Monday for Thursday’s game at Paul Brown Stadium (8:25 p.m.-Cincinnati’s Channel 5 and NFL Network) and among the casualties were both quarterbacks. But the biggest absence is just fine, left tackle Duane Brown. Brown is holding out and the Houston offensive line isn’t holding up. The numbers coming out of Sunday’s 29-7 loss were 26 pressures and 10 sacks, making the Bengals problems on their offensive line look manageable. It’s also why everybody figures rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson is going to get the start because he can move.

Cincinnati Bengals QB Andy Dalton was historically bad in Week 1
Andy Dalton wasn't just bad on Sunday. He was all-time bad. The Bengals quarterback's performance against the Ravens put him on the list of bottom five single-game Total QBR performances in the history of the statistic, which dates back to 2006.

First Look: Bengals vs. Texans
A first look at the Cincinnati Bengals’ 2017 prime time debut Thursday night against the Houston Texans at Paul Brown Stadium at 8:25 p.m. The Bengals are coming off their first shutout since 2014 and first at home since 2001 after falling 20-0 to Baltimore on Sunday. Andy Dalton threw four interceptions and committed five turnovers and the offensive line surrendered five sacks in the loss.

Cincinnati Bengals Weekend Forecast: First glance at Texans
Mississippi and Mississippi State have been playing the game since 1901, but the first NFL version of the Egg Bowl will be Thursday night after the Cincinnati Bengals and Houston Texans laid two giant ones in their season openers Sunday. While the Bengals were enduring a 20-0 loss against the Baltimore Ravens, the Texans were unintentionally paying homage to their “Bulls on Parade” theme song with an offensive line that seemed to chanting Ole’ all afternoon while allowing Jacksonville to record 10 sacks in a 29-7 loss.

Texans starting rookie Deshaun Watson against Bengals on Thursday night
The Houston Texans are going to roll the dice with a rookie on a big stage, as CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora reported Monday night the Texans would start Deshaun Watson for Thursday night's game against the Bengals.

John Ross fully participates in practice for Bengals
As the Bengals try to win their first game (and score their first points), their first-round pick could be getting ready to play in his first game. Bengals receiver John Ross fully participated in Monday’s practice despite a knee injury that kept him from playing on Sunday in a 20-0 loss to the Ravens.

Cincinnati Bengals Walkthru September 11, 2017.
While coaches spew purposeful misinformation and fans pull their hair out in regards to depth charts and potential playing time during the preseason, the answer has always been that we will learn from the snap counts after the opener. Well, let’s take a look at the snaps counts from the Bengals’ opening-week debacle and see what we can surmise in regards to playing time and expectations for usage. A note should be made due to the blowout nature of the game, certain types of offenses (extra WR) and defenses (base) were used more. But, still, there were trends to be observed

AFC North Bytes

Hue Jackson: DeShone Kizer “gives us hope”
The Browns lost 21-18 to the Steelers on Sunday, which is a familiar result for a team that’s made losing their trademark over the last two decades. Feelings of hope that things are going to get better aren’t quite as familiar in Cleveland, but coach Hue Jackson has them after the first game of the year. The reason Jackson is feeling that way is quarterback DeShone Kizer.

Steelers Could Be Preparing To Bring Back Steven Johnson
We should know more relatively quickly later on today, but we got a report surfacing last night indicating that the Pittsburgh Steelers are going to release inside linebacker L.J. Fort, who spent most of the 2016 season on the 53-man roster and looked to have made the team again during the preseason with a solid showing.

Random Bytes

Minnesota Vikings Look Nearly Unstoppable Behind Resurgent Sam Bradford
When Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford was drafted first overall by the St. Louis Rams in 2010, those who believed Bradford was worthy of that selection figured he'd put together dozens of performances like the one he had Monday night. Instead, it took seven years for Bradford to give us a truly special outing. In his 79th NFL start Monday against the New Orleans Saints, Bradford—two months shy of his 30th birthday—played by far the best game of his NFL career.

Trevor Siemian, Broncos Almost Blow Big Lead, Hang On to Beat Chargers
The Denver Broncos started their 2017 season in dramatic fashion Monday with a 24-21 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers in an AFC West battle at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Denver appeared to be cruising to a straightforward win with a 24-7 lead in the fourth quarter, but Los Angeles climbed to within three and set the stage for a potential overtime after two turnovers and two quick scores.

NFL Power Rankings: Where Does Every Team Stand Heading into Week 2?
Week 1 of the NFL season is tough; I don't care how impressive your team is. Even after the preseason, teams aren't sure what they are. They're even less sure what their opponent is going to be. I know I wasn't a superstar quarterback in the NFL, but take it from me: Teams are going to see wrinkles they don't expect and have issues they don't anticipate. This is why we end up seeing wild mistakes and plays and bizarre scores.