Bengals Injury Roundup: Mom’s Spaghetti was a bad choice

The Cincinnati Bengals began their three-week road trip with a convincing 34-11 win over the Detroit Lions. They’re not fully healthy as the midpoint of the season approaches, but they escaped Detroit without being banged up too much.

Here are some updates of injured Bengals from the last week.

Jackson Carman

There wasn’t vomit on his sweater already, but Carman apparently did consume some Mom’s Spaghetti in Detroit.

Carman left the game during the third quarter with what was described as an illness. We would soon learn that he threw up on the sideline before being carted to the locker room. For a player who got off the COVID-19 list just two days prior, one could assume he was still dealing with the impact of contracting the virus.

That may be part of what happened, but food poisoning might be a safer bet based on the evidence.

Carman would not return to the game, as his stomach was likely fighting for its life dealing with a bad meal from Eminem’s Mom’s Spaghetti the night before. Hopefully he’ll be feeling better by the time practice starts this week.

Editor’s note: Carman clarified he did not actually eat at Mom’s Spaghetti, he was simply making use of the reference to Detroit.

Joe Mixon

Despite his limited practice time, Mixon was cleared for a near full workload Sunday. His box score numbers would have you believe he was 100% recovered, but his ankle started giving him trouble again around the end of the third quarter.

Mixon left the game after an awkward tackled halted a four-yard run of his. Chris Evans played a few snaps before the fourth quarter began, and Mixon came back onto the field with fresh tape on his left ankle.

That would be the last we saw of him before Zac Taylor pulled all the starters he could from the offense. As the backups ran out garbage time, Mixon got to rest his ankle. It’s safe to assume Taylor will continue Mixon’s practice reps this week.

Tee Higgins

Brandon Allen’s first behind of the game targeted Higgins on a slot fade. Higgins was able to draw a pass interference flag on the play, but he appeared to injure his left leg. He walked off normally under his own power and did not return for the remainder of the game.

It didn’t look like anything serious for Higgins. We’ll see if he ends up on the injury report.

Trey Hopkins

The Bengals had a bit of a scare Sunday with Trey Hopkins and his surgically-repaired left knee, which has already been keeping him limited in practice in recent weeks.

In the second half, Hopkins was seen on the sideline being attended to by trainers as they appeared to work work on that left leg.

Thankfully, Hopkins was able to keep playing and doesn’t appear to have suffered anything new, though we should probably expect him to get another week of light participation in practice.

Joe Burrow

After throwing for 279 yards and three touchdowns, Burrow said his throat is “still a bit sore,” but it clearly wasn’t a hindrance to his performance. Some hot tea and a humidifier should do the trick.

Sunday was the first time anyone outside of the team heard Burrow talk since suffering a throat contusion against the Green Bay Packers. The voice rest he was on last week appeared to help him talk in the huddle inside a dome on the road.