Demetrius Knight Jr. took a shot in the first quarter Sunday, but he didn’t stay down for long.
The Bengals linebacker was hurt during Cincinnati’s Week 8 overtime win over the Tennessee Titans at Paycor Stadium, with the injury coming on Tony Pollard’s 41-yard touchdown run. Knight was still on the turf at the end of the play, then got up and jogged off under his own power before heading to the blue medical tent for evaluation. He was back on the field for the Titans’ next drive.
Later, Knight delivered one of the game’s biggest moments. In the third quarter, he stopped Pollard in the end zone for a safety that pushed Cincinnati ahead 23-21.
"What a big-time play by a big-time player in Demetrius Knight," CBS analyst Robert Turbin said during the broadcast.
Knight, a second-round pick by the Bengals in the 2025 NFL Draft, is in his second season with the team. Sunday’s scare fit a pattern that’s followed him through the year.
He was injured in the first quarter of the Bengals’ Week 3 loss to Pittsburgh at Acrisure Stadium and returned early in the second quarter. In Week 1 against Tampa Bay, he left in the fourth quarter with apparent cramping, though he had already scored Cincinnati’s first touchdown of the season earlier in the game on a fumble recovery for a score.
In 2025, Knight also dealt with muscle cramps and went to the locker room during the second half of the Bengals’ Week 9 loss to Chicago at Paycor Stadium. A week before that, in the Week 8 loss to the New York Jets, he stayed down after a collision with Jets rookie tight end Mason Taylor but walked off under his own power.
Knight also suffered a leg injury in September 2025 during the second quarter of the Bengals’ Week 4 loss to Denver. He walked off under his own power, came back later in the second quarter, and finished that first half by picking off a pass in the end zone for his first career interception.
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Cincinnati will host Tennessee at Paycor Stadium in Week 8, with CBS carrying the game and streaming available through Paramount+, NFL+, and NFL Sunday Ticket. The Titans arrive having altered their roster during the week, which only adds another layer to a matchup that already feels like a test of whether the Bengals latest surge was a one-game burst or something more lasting. [Read more 🡒]