The Bengals got exactly the kind of play they were hoping for from Dexter Lawrence in Week 8.
Lawrence came through with a critical sack on Titans quarterback Cam Ward, forcing a 13-yard loss and knocking Tennessee out of field-goal range in Cincinnati’s 43-36 overtime win. Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said that moment was a perfect example of why the team brought Lawrence in last offseason.
“That’s why you trade for a guy like that,” Taylor said, via Ben Baby of ESPN. “He stepped up and has been the impact player we hoped he would be.”
Cincinnati also added Jonathan Allen over the offseason, and the veteran defensive tackle said the Bengals made their pitch in a way other teams didn’t. Allen said some clubs tried to “lowball” him, while Cincinnati was direct about wanting him in the building.
“ Honestly, other teams were trying to lowball me and see what kind of deal they could work out,” Allen said. “ Cincinnati was straightforward and to the point: ‘We want you to be a part of this.’ So honestly, it was a pretty easy decision.”
Another offseason addition, edge rusher Boye Mafe, said the defense entered 2026 “with something to prove,” which helped sell him on joining the group. He said he was drawn to that mindset.
“I feel like the [defense] came into this year with something to prove,” Mafe said. “And for me, that’s an easy thing to buy into.
I love to see an underdog story. I love to see people count somebody out and for them to show up as much as they can.”
Baltimore, meanwhile, is dealing with a far messier quarterback picture. Lamar Jackson is on injured reserve with a thumb injury, and Tyler Huntley is out for the season after suffering turf toe. Before the Ravens moved to acquire Jacoby Brissett from the Cardinals, The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec laid out several other names Baltimore could have considered.
Zrebiec noted that Brissett had been demoted to Arizona’s third-string quarterback and also has experience with Ravens QB coach Israel Woolfork, who held a similar role with the Cardinals last year.
If Baltimore had needed to keep digging, Zrebiec pointed to Teddy Bridgewater as a free-agent option because of his past work with members of the Ravens staff during his time with the Saints, though it remains unclear whether he would unretire again.
Zrebiec also listed Jimmy Garoppolo, Cooper Rush and Clayton Tune as additional free-agent possibilities.
On the practice-squad side, he mentioned Bengals quarterback Josh Johnson, who has already had two stints in Baltimore and has a strong relationship with Jackson. He also brought up Jets practice-squad quarterback Will Levis, noting that the Ravens had high grades on him before the 2023 NFL Draft and that his athletic profile fits Baltimore’s offense.
There was at least one bit of better news for Baltimore on the injury front. Ravens guard Olaivavega Ioane sounded “pretty confident” he will be able to play in Week 9 on Thursday, per Zrebiec.
And in another quarterback update, Baltimore HC Jesse Minter announced QB Joe Fagnano will start in Week 9 on Thursday against the Jaguars.
In Pittsburgh, the Steelers’ veteran-heavy roster has produced its share of public friction, with players like Aaron Rodgers, T.J. Watt and Jalen Ramsey having various spats with the coaching staff. But at 6-2 and sitting in first place in the AFC North near the midpoint of the season, the Steelers are comfortable with the way things are unfolding.
Patrick Queen said the back-and-forth is part of a group that is all pointed in the same direction.
“It definitely is,” Steelers LB Patrick Queen said via Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. “I think it’s because everybody has the same end goal, and that’s to hold the trophy up.
And once you go through things so many times, you’re not trying to go into this insanity, you’re just trying to find a new way to do things. We understand that with all the alphas in here, nobody’s selfish.
That’s the biggest thing. … Everybody wants to win and everybody understands how we got to win.”
Queen added that the conversations can get heated, but the trust is there.
“Sometimes they’re heated conversations, but at the end of the day, all of us come to see eye-to-eye and just understand that we got to trust the plan and the process,” Queen added. “And then sometimes [HC Mike McCarthy ] got to trust us and he’s got to hear us out as well.
So the communication and the trust is something that’s still climbing, and it’s in a great place right now. And we all trust Mike McCarthy because he’s been doing it a long time, he’s won, we know what he has established in his league, so just trust in his plan.”
In Other News...
Steelers Quarterback Depth Just Entered The Trade Deadline Conversation
The Steelers quarterback room is suddenly part of the trade deadline chatter, even if the situation still feels more theoretical than urgent. Pittsburgh is carrying four quarterbacks on its 53-man roster, with veteran Mason Rudolph among them, and that kind of depth naturally gets attention when the deadline starts creeping closer and teams around the league begin bracing for injuries.
ESPNs Jeremy Fowler floated Rudolph as a possible trade candidate in that context, though the broader read is that Pittsburgh is not expected to be active in that way. For now, it reads more like a league-wide what-if than a real sign the Steelers are preparing to deal from a position of strength, with any movement depending on how the quarterback market shifts elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Cornerback Regret Looks Worse With Every Week
The Steelers secondary decisions from the 2026 offseason are looking a little different now than they did then. Pittsburgh traded Joey Porter Jr. to the Cowboys and let James Pierre walk to Minnesota, a pair of moves that seemed manageable at the time but have taken on more weight as the season has gone on. Porter has been solid enough in Dallas, but Pierres rise with the Vikings has turned him into the more glaring what-if for a defense that could have used another dependable corner.
Pierre has settled in quickly in Minnesota and the coverage numbers have backed up the eye test, with a strong showing that has him sitting 12th among NFL cornerbacks. For the Steelers, the frustration is less about one bad decision than the combination of performance and cost, since Pierres contract was the kind of deal Pittsburgh could have kept in play. Instead, the front office is left watching a player it knew well thrive elsewhere while the question of whether he should have stayed in black and gold lingers a little longer each week. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Win Over Browns Just Sparked A New Rivalry Flashpoint
A routine extra-point sequence turned into one of the sharper postgame talking points from Pittsburgh's Week 8 win over Cleveland, when guard Mason McCormick drew an unnecessary roughness penalty after a hit on Browns defensive end Jared Verse. The play added another layer to a rivalry that rarely needs much help finding emotion, and it quickly drew attention well beyond the field as former Browns safety T.J. Ward weighed in on the hit.
McCormick said afterward that he did not know it was Verse on the other end of the collision and was simply following coaching instructions, while Verse made clear he was upset about the incident. Verse also said he had already discussed the situation with his Browns teammates, leaving the episode as one more flashpoint in a matchup that seems to keep finding new edges every time these teams meet. [Read more 🡒]