Bengals News (9/15): Young special teamers see a test against Ravens

Quick Hits: Finally, Paycor Hosts Ja'Marr Vs. Lamar; The Rumble Lives; Why Bengals LT Orlando Brown Jr. Calls It A Homecoming; Ravens OL Dented
Chase, Cincinnati's two-time Pro Bowl wide receiver, has averaged 115.5 yards in his five games against Baltimore, the most anybody has had in at least four games against the always vaunted Baltimore defense.

Five Things To Watch: Bengals vs. Ravens
Joe Burrow and the Bengals' potent passing attack will look to get back on schedule this week against a Ravens secondary that is not at full strength. Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh already confirmed that starting safety Marcus Williams will not play against the Bengals after suffering a pectoral injury in Week 1. Marlon Humphrey, the Ravens' Pro Bowl cornerback, underwent foot surgery in mid-August and has not yet returned to practice.

Game Within The Game: Young Bengals Special Teamers Expect It All From Harbaugh's Ravens
That speed and dynamism is the foundation of Simmons' latest rehab job, an almost annual exercise for special teams coaches. With five key players making an up-and-down pro debut in Cleveland, they are young men in a hurry and they know they have to fast forward to Sunday's Paycor Stadium opener (1 p.m.-Cincinnati's Local 12) because here comes that franchise where Simmons cut his pro teeth.

Cincinnati Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase sets tone before Ravens game
Because of the success the Bengals had last season after starting the season 0-2, the temperament around the team hasn’t changed after one game. The Bengals are a legitimate Super Bowl contender and with that comes expectations.

Cincinnati Bengals Practice Report: Possible Rookie Debut on Deck
If Evans is unable to go Sunday, there would be a ripple effect for two rookies. Fifth-rounder Chase Brown, who was inactive Sunday in Cleveland, would be active as the third running back. And Charlie Jones, the fourth-round wide receiver, presumably would assume Evans’ kick-return duties in addition to his regular role as the punt returner.

AFC North Power Rankings sees dramatic drop of Bengals after Week 1
The Cincinnati Bengals, by far, played the worst game of any of their AFC North rivals this weekend. Quarterback Joe Burrow had the worst game of his career. The Bengals’ offense only managed 82 yards passing. That was the fewest passing yards of Week 1. The run game did not fare much better, as the team only managed 75 yards on the ground. The Cincinnati offense looked inept the entire game against the Cleveland Browns.

Jim Trotter: I was told not to report NFL wanted Bills-Bengals to resume
In his new lawsuit against the NFL, former NFL Network reporter Jim Trotter alleges that the league exercises control of NFL Media, to the extent that the league “throttles content that is critical of the NFL.” To prove that point, Trotter makes specific allegations regarding his efforts to report information learned regarding the cancellation of the Bills-Bengals game on January 2, 2023, after Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest on the field.

NFL fantasy football stats & trends, Week 2: Stick with Bengals stars
I know you’re not panicking about Joe Brrrr and his rain-drenched three-point stinker in Week 1 … especially since we've seen this before. The Bengals have been known to throw out dud games under Zac Taylor over the last few years. But there's good news. Burrow had five games where he threw for fewer than 225 passing yards last season. In the weeks immediately following those games, he averaged just north of 325 yards. Plus, in the franchise quarterback's young career, he's averaged six fewer fantasy points in Week 1 games versus all others and four fewer fantasy points versus his Week 1 division rival, the Browns, versus other opponents. Moral of the story? The newly paid star is going to be just that for your fantasy team -- starting in Week 2.

Around the league

2023 NFL season, Week 2: What We Learned from Eagles' win over Vikings on Thursday night
Eagles changed vibe with run-heavy drive. New offensive coordinator Brian Johnson deserves some credit for a pregame initiative and a mid-game adjustment. Following the narrow Week 1 win in which Dallas Goedert was held without a catch, and D’Andre Swift was limited to two touches, Johnson said the Eagles had to be “mindful” of changing that. Mindful they were, as Goedert caught six passes on seven targets and Swift had a career night with 175 rushing yards and a touchdown. Johnson also gets a thumbs up for his back-to-basics approach when the Eagles’ offense stalled. They kicked an opening-drive field goal but followed that with a three-and-out, an interception and a missed field goal, mirroring Sunday’s second-quarter doldrums. Thirteen minutes into Thursday’s game, The Linc was a chorus of boos. But Johnson went to the ground game -- even with Kenneth Gainwell inactive -- to counteract Brian Flores’ kitchen-sink defense, which gave the offensive line some issues. It worked. The Eagles ran the ball on 13 of 16 plays on their first TD drive, kickstarting a run of four straight possessions with a score. There is still quite a bit they can do to tighten things up offensively, but this felt like a mini-breakthrough for a coordinator in his second game calling plays after he’d heard the boos.

QB Kirk Cousins: Vikings 'shot ourselves in the foot' with four turnovers vs. Eagles
"A tough, tough loss. Solid opponent, shot ourselves in the foot with the turnovers," quarterback Kirk Cousins said, via the official transcript. "Similar story now the first two weeks in that case...Just difficult to win in this league when you lose the turnover battle by one, let alone by the margin we have lost it by, so we have to fix those mistakes and not let it continue."

Homecoming king: Philadelphia native D'Andre Swift runs for career-high 175 yards in Eagles' win over Vikings
Speeding past Minnesota Vikings defenders, Swift posted a career-high 175 rushing yards as the Philadelphia Eagles ground attack ran roughshod en route to a 34-28 win on Thursday Night Football.

Isaiah Simmons fitting in with Giants, expects 'emotions' ahead of revenge game vs. Cardinals
"I'm not an emotionless person so I'm sure there will be some emotions flowing through me, but nothing that's going to affect me and make me do anything crazy," Simmons said Thursday, via The Associated Press. "I'm not a person to go out there and be like, 'rah, rah, rah,' so I'm not going to go out there doing that or try to make an extra play because then that's when you end up hurting yourself in the long run."