Zac Taylor had a few health updates to sort through once the Bengals landed in Madrid, and the biggest names on the list were DJ Turner and Cedric Johnson.
Speaking to the media Thursday morning in Spain, Taylor said some players would be limited in practice, though he didn’t say which ones. That left Turner, who is dealing with a heel issue, and Johnson, who has an ankle injury, in a wait-and-see spot rather than being ruled out.
The timing matters because Cincinnati’s week is running on a very different clock. Practices are set for the afternoon locally, which means morning work back on Eastern Standard Time. The Bengals have two practices left today and tomorrow before an off day Saturday and then Sunday’s game.
Turner and Johnson would be welcome additions for a team that is already rolling on offense. Cincinnati is 5-2 and in the middle of a tight AFC North race with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but the bigger story lately has been how hot the Bengals’ attack has been. Since Week 5 began, Taylor’s offense is putting up 0.216 EPA/play, which leads the league by a wide margin, and it also ranks first in success rate at 58%.
Getting more bodies back in the secondary would help, especially with cornerback still in flux this week. Cincinnati also does not have Jalen Davis back from injured reserve yet.
Taylor pointed to Josh Newton’s work in the game as an example of how the group has handled the moving parts.
"Thought he came in there and provided a lot of energy and competed and got Dax back outside," Taylor said about Josh Newton's repps in the game. "This time DJ is down, so now you got different grouping in there.
And so that was a little bit of the plan going into the game, and then it evolves when you have an injury. But because those guys keep competing, and they're all ready when their numbers go on."
Joe Burrow, meanwhile, is healthy and coming off another win after the Bengals beat the Titans. After the game, he said, "We found a way to win today," Burrow said after beating the Titans.
"We're 5-2. We've lost that game for the last three years.
It's hard to win. You want to be great, snap in, snap out, but it's not the reality of it.
All we can do is keep working hard and get better. You win from wins and losses and good plays and bad plays.
That's what the NFL and getting better is. We'll continue to do that."
Cincinnati now turns to the Falcons, with kickoff set for Sunday at 9:30 a.m. ET. Taylor also praised Atlanta as a team, specifically the offense led by Bijan Robinson.
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