Bengals News (10/5): Time to get running

Evan McPherson Named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for Week 4 Against Miami
McPherson made two FG attempts, both of which came in the fourth quarter, and converted each of his three PAT attempts. He was good from 19 yards to put Cincinnati ahead 17-15, then extended the lead with 6:13 remaining with a 57-yarder, which tied for the fifth-longest kick in the NFL this season. Through four games, McPherson has made nine of 11 FG attempts, and six of seven PATs. He has converted all three of his attempts of 50 or more yards, including a Bengals record long 59-yarder in Week 1.

Bengals Roster News: Khalid Kareem and Rookie Cam Taylor-Britt Designated To Return
Kareem has been on the Reserve/Injured list since Sept. 1 with a hamstring injury, while Taylor-Britt has been on the list since Sept. 2 with an abdomen injury. Today starts a 21-day period during which both players may practice with the team without counting against the 53-player active roster. Both are eligible to be activated to the roster at any time during that period.

Bengals' Zac Taylor In One-On-One With Geoff Hobson
It's hard for me to say. There's always a feeling-out process early in the season, I think whether you played preseason games with your starters or not. It's always when the real games happen and you get a sense of your team, and you work through some grind things sometimes and you get to where you need to be once the season gets rolling, and I've got confidence that that's the direction we're headed.

Prisco's NFL Week 5 picks: Bengals outlast Ravens in high-scoring thriller, Jets upset Tua-less Dolphins
Last week wasn't quite as bad as the week before, so there is progress. But calling 5-9-2 against the spread progress tells you how awful I was the week before. I did go 9-7 straight up and 3-2 with my best bets as part of the Pick Six Podcast. That brings my season record ATS to 27-34-3, my straight-up record to 33-30-1 and my best bets record is now 13-9.

NFL odds, betting: Do we believe Joe Burrow and the Bengals will remain under targets?
NFL scoring finally got a jolt in Week 4 as teams averaged 24.6 points per game. The 3.6-point uptick is a welcome sign as the league was previously sputtering well below last year's average. After an initial two-week windfall for sharp bettors who targeted unders, the ratio has evened out. Sixty-five percent of games went under the total in the first two weeks, but they only hit a 50% clip in Weeks 3 and 4.

Former Cincinnati Bengals First Round Pick Billy Price Signs With Arizona Cardinals
Price was the 21st overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. He spent the first three seasons of his career in Cincinnati before being traded to the Giants in exchange for B.J. Hill.

Bengals RB Joe Mixon calls players-only meeting to discuss run game
“I called for a meeting with them just to see what they’re thinking on certain runs or what they think I should do on certain runs,” Mixon said. “I feel like that will definitely be beneficial down the road and taking that next step on coming together and building that chemistry on and off the field. I think that’s going to take us a long way down the road so I look forward to it.”

Safety Vonn Bell on what recently clicked for Cincinnati Bengals, Week 5 vs. Baltimore Ravens
Safety Vonn Bell on what has clicked for the Cincinnati Bengals in the last two weeks and the upcoming Baltimore Ravens Week 5 matchup.

Bengals defense has been dominant this season
Whereas Joe Burrow and the offense have experienced a natural regression in 2022, the defense has been playing at an elite level so far in 2022. Cincy faced four teams of differing quality -- the Steelers, Cowboys, Jets, and Dolphins -- and in each matchup the defense has made some game-changing plays.

Around the league

Seahawks QB Geno Smith, Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes among Players of the Week
Smith threw for 320 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the Seahawks' 48-45 win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday. Smith took home NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors, his first such accolade (and the second of his career) since Week 5 of his rookie year with the New York Jets when he was lauded as AFC Offensive Player of the Week. Smith's accuracy was once more a highlight as he completed 76.7% of his passes (23 of 30) and tallied three total touchdowns with a rushing score, as well.

Commanders designate RB Brian Robinson to return to practice a month after shooting
Just over a month after sustaining gunshot wounds in a shooting in Washington, D.C., the Commanders rookie running back was designated to return to practice on Wednesday. NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Sunday that Washington was expected to activate Robinson off the reserve/non-football injury list this week after his mandatory four-week stint.

Former Jaguars QB Blake Bortles announces retirement after eight seasons in NFL
Bortles hadn't played an official NFL snap since the 2019 season when he was Jared Goff's backup with the Rams. The 30-year-old bounced around multiple practice squads since, including stops in Denver, Los Angeles, Green Bay and New Orleans.

Aaron Rodgers sees similarities between Christian Watson, Davante Adams as Packers rookies
To open the 2022 campaign, current Green Bay rookie second-rounder Christian Watson has had a similarly slow start to his career, catching six passes for 51 yards in three games played, and earned a rushing score in Sunday's win over the New England Patriots.

Ben Roethlisberger surprised by halftime switch to Kenny Pickett: 'The whole offense was stagnant'
"But to me, when you pull [Trubisky], I get what you're trying to do. You're trying to create a spark. Which, I think it happened. ... When you put someone new in there at a position like that, it's going to create some sort of a spark. It's going to create energy. It's going to do that. So you're going to naturally, a lot of times, get that 'let's go!' And you got that.