Cincinnati’s injury picture got worse in the aftermath of the 22-17 loss, and the Bengals are staring at a thin receiver room heading into a week of work for Miami.
Head coach Zac Taylor said Monday afternoon that Ja’Marr Chase remains in concussion protocol and will likely stay there for most of, if not all of the week. Tee Higgins, who left with a groin issue, is listed as “day-to-day,” and Taylor didn’t close the door on him playing against the Dolphins on Sunday.
That matters because the Bengals are already scraping for healthy bodies at wide receiver. Mitchell Tinsley and Dohnte Meyers are the only wideouts on the active roster healthy enough to suit up right now, and on the final drive Sunday, Mike Gesicki had to take on outside receiver duties because Cincinnati was so short-handed.
Expect Ke’Shawn Williams to see plenty of work in practice this week, and the Bengals may also need to bring in another receiver from outside the building just to get through the week with enough available players.
Taylor watched the tape Monday and said the game flow forced Cincinnati into an offense that leaned heavily on the pass. Even with the injuries, the Bengals threw it 54 times for 428 yards while running only 15 times for 23 yards, one of the lowest rushing totals in team history.
“We don't want to rush for 23 yards. We don't want to go (just) 15 carries.
That's not what we want to be about. I thought we did a good job adjusting to how we had to play the game as the game unfolded,” Taylor said on Sunday.
“You can call 30 runs, but when you feel like sometimes you're only going to get two yards a carry - now you're second-and-eight, third-and-seven - and that's not a fun way to play the game.
“You're not admitting defeat - that's the way the game went for us in the second half, and we had to play that style of game. It doesn't mean that next game we can't run the ball 40 times, but I'm not going to look at it and say, 'Man, we should have called 15 more runs.' If it wasn't effective and you feel it, and you feel like you've got a really good rhythm in the pass game - let's just keep attacking in the pass game, and that's where it went.”
Cincinnati has Tuesday off and returns to practice Wednesday.
In Other News...
Joe Burrow And Zac Taylor Suddenly Sound Far Apart On Bengals Offense
After the loss to Jacksonville, the Bengals came out with two noticeably different readings of where things stand on offense. Zac Taylor pointed to the effort level and the reality of injuries, trying to keep the message forward-looking, while Joe Burrow took a harder line on accountability and pushed back on any temptation to explain away the mistakes. Its the kind of split that matters in Cincinnati because the offense is built around Burrows standard, and his interceptions only sharpened the focus on how much cleaner the unit needs to be.
Taylor also made clear he wants more from the running game, which adds another layer to an offense already trying to steady itself before the Miami Dolphins come to town. The Bengals do not have the luxury of drifting into another sloppy afternoon, and the gap between the coachs optimism and the quarterbacks urgency leaves the bigger question hanging: can the group get aligned quickly enough to show the kind of response both men expect? [Read more 🡒]
Bengals Suddenly Have A Receiver Problem They Cant Ignore
The Bengals left their Week 4 game with a receiver depth chart that suddenly looks a lot thinner than anyone in Cincinnati would have expected. Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins both went down with injuries, and the options behind them are now down to Dohnte Meyers and Mitchell Tinsley, a recent pickup from the Texans' practice squad. For an offense built around having top-end playmakers on the outside, that is the kind of shortage that can force a front office to move quickly.
If the Bengals decide they need outside help, the free-agent market at receiver offers a few names to at least consider while they wait on the health of their starters. The bigger question is how aggressive they want to be, because this is no longer a luxury addition or a depth-only discussion. It is a roster issue with real urgency, and it will tell a lot about how Cincinnati views its chances of riding out the next stretch without sacrificing too much at the position. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals Waste A Huge Joe Burrow Night In Frustrating Loss
Joe Burrow turned in one of his biggest passing nights of the season, and it still wasnt enough to lift the Bengals at Paycor Stadium. Cincinnati fell 22-17 to the Jacksonville Jaguars in a game that had the feel of a missed opportunity from the start, with Burrow piling up 428 yards through the air while the offense struggled to find balance behind him.
The Bengals were also forced to keep going without Ja'Marr Chase after he left with a concussion, which only added to the strain on an offense already leaning heavily on Burrow. The run game never gave Cincinnati much help, and a critical fourth-quarter interception helped swing the night toward Jacksonville, leaving the Bengals to wonder how a performance that strong from their quarterback could still end in frustration. [Read more 🡒]