1) John Ross did not practice on Thursday. Ross suffered a groin injury during Cincinnati’s 37-36 win over Atlanta — the injury occurred during his second quarter touchdown. According to reports, Ross worked the stationary bike.
The evolution of John Ross: After spending his rookie season in the doghouse, Ross took a few uppercuts from fans after his obvious lack of effort against Carolina. Ross responded with a career-high 52 yards receiving against Atlanta, including a 39-yard touchdown reception that broke a 14-point tie.
2) Defensive end Carl Lawson was added to the injury report. Lawson is a new addition to the injury report, listed as limited on Thursday, which usually means there was an injury during practice. The report says Lawson is dealing with an “ankle”.
No more information: Since the Bengals, like most NFL teams, apply a super-secretive policy that shames the NSA, Cincinnati’s scribes have no idea why Lawson was limited. It makes you wonder if something happened Thursday afternoon. Friday will offer more information.
The pass rushing competition: As it relates to quarterback pressures, Geno Atkins dominates the conversation. Through four games, Atkins leads the team with 26 pressures — 17 hurries, four sacks, and five quarterback hits. Lawson currently ranks second with 17 pressures and 11 hurries — his five quarterback hits is tied with Atkins.
Bengals Injury/Practice Report Week 5
POS | BENGALS | INJURY | WED | THUR | FRI | STATUS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
POS | BENGALS | INJURY | WED | THUR | FRI | STATUS |
TE | Tyler Eifert | Ankle | DNP | DNP | DNP | IR |
C | Billy Price | Foot | DNP | DNP | DNP | OUT |
HB | Giovani Bernard | Knee | DNP | DNP | DNP | OUT |
WR | John Ross | Groin | LP | DNP | DNP | OUT |
DE | Carl Lawson | Ankle | -- | LP | FP | -- |
HB | Joe Mixon | Knee | LP | LP | FP | -- |
DE | Michael Johnson | Knee | LP | LP | FP | -- |
LB | Preston Brown | Shoulder | LP | FP | FP | -- |
OG | Alex Redmond | Shoulder | LP | FP | FP | -- |
3) There’s a belief Tony McRae was “robbed.” With 4:26 remaining in the fourth, McRae blocked Matt Bryant’s 37-yard field goal. “Offsides”. But was it? McRae says “No, no. Ask (special teams coach) Darrin (Simmons).” Was it a penalty?
The penalty allowed Bryant to convert the ensuing 32-yard field goal to give Atlanta a 36-31 lead. Had the block stood, Cincinnati would only need a field goal to take the lead.
All things considered, I’m glad it played out the way it did. During Cincinnati’s ensuing possession, Tyler Boyd amazingly helped convert two fourth downs. Penalties should always be fair, but we learned about Cincinnati’s perseverance.
To have with your chamomile tea (for your reading pleasure):
- Katherine Terrell writes about Joe Mixon’s secondary role as team cheerleader. “If you see pictures from after the game, I think he was in every single one of them,” Dalton said via ESPN. Terrell also talked about Boyd’s growth — a subject I’ll cover for Friday’s column.
- Kevin Nogle with The Phinsider spent a few minutes with our crew to talk about Sunday’s game between the Bengals and Dolphins.
- Matt Minich previews Sunday’s game with a focus on quarterback Ryan Tannehill. The line that scares me most: “Tannehill is an accurate passer who can find gaps in zone defense.” Uh oh.
- The Athletic’s Joe Goodberry promotes C.J. Uzomah, who figures to fill-in with Tyler Eifert going back on the Injured Reserve (eventually).
- Jay Morrison on the impact of Vontaze Burfict’s return.
- Patrick Judis reviews Week 5 in fantasy football — the thing I consider the absolute death of football.
Quote of the Day. Marvin Lewis on Joe Mixon:
“Joe has had that exuberance ever since he has been here,” Lewis said this week. “He had that this spring at Oklahoma when Orlando Brown, Baker Mayfield, and Mark Andrews were all working out (at the pro day). He had the towel and the water bottle. That was what he was doing and that’s Joe. I encourage him to never lose that quality. If you want to ascend to the type of player you can be in the NFL you want to keep that exuberance and camaraderie with your teammates. Its big, winning is important to him.”