Cornerback Riley Moss may be back in the Broncos lineup this week.
Moss was listed as a full participant in practice on Tuesday’s injury report. Moss has missed the last three games with a knee injury, but his move to full participation would seem to be a good sign of his availability for Saturday’s game against the Bengals.
Running back Tyler Badie (back) was a full participant in practice as well. Badie was designated for return from injured reserve on Tuesday.
Wide receiver Troy Franklin (ankle) also got a full listing while running back Jaleel McLaughlin (quad) was the team’s only limited participant.
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow told reporters on Tuesday that he feels like he’s totally past his right wrist injury, but it still landed him on the team’s injury report.
Burrow was listed as limited due to the wrist and his knee, although that probably shouldn’t create much cause for concern about his availability against the Broncos on Saturday since he was listed as limited all of last week before playing without issue in the team’s win over the Browns.
“I don’t think about it a ton right now,” Burrow said of his wrist, via Jay Morrison of SI.com. “I think we’re pretty much past it. There are still arm care and things that I do to help with that, but we’re in a good spot.”
Wide receiver Tee Higgins (ankle, knee) was listed as limited as well, but he also played without incident last Sunday after being on the report all week. Left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. (fibula), wide receiver Charlie Jones (groin), and right tackle Amarius Mims (ankle, hand) rounded out the limited group.
Defensive end Sam Hubbard (knee), tight end Tanner Hudson (knee), and defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins (illness) were all listed as out of practice.
The Bengals signed defensive end Isaiah Thomas off the practice squad to the active roster, the team announced Monday.
They waived quarterback Logan Woodside in a corresponding move.
Thomas, a second-year player, spent the first six games of this season on Cincinnati’s practice squad. He signed with Detroit’s active roster on Oct. 15 before returning to the Bengals’ practice squad on Dec. 18.
The Bengals elevated Thomas to the active roster for Sunday’s game against Cleveland.
Woodside, a fifth-year player, spent the first 13 games of this season on Cincinnati’s practice squad. He signed to the active roster on Dec. 14.
The Bengals could re-sign him to the practice squad if he clears waivers Tuesday as the team has only Jake Browning behind Joe Burrow.
The bettors have spoken. In two weeks, the bettors might be speechless.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen continues to be the overwhelming favorite to win the NFL MVP award. At DraftKings, for instance, he’s -550. The next closest candidate is Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, at +400.
Eagles running back Saquon Barkley is now 12-1, or +1200. Lions quarterback Jared Goff is 20-1. Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold are +7000.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is +7500.
Despite the odds, an easy argument can be made for Lamar’s third MVP award, and second in a row. He has 37 touchdown passes and four interceptions. He leads all qualifying quarterbacks with a passer rating of 120.6.
And Barkley has a realistic shot at breaking Eric Dickerson’s 40-year-old single-season rushing record. Twelve years ago, Adrian Peterson came close to doing so, and it was enough to eke out the MVP over Peyton Manning, who had a stellar first season with the Broncos.
The reality is that the odds mean nothing. Once the season is over — and once the playoff seeds are locked — the candidates tend to become more clear. And it ultimately comes down to the 50 media members who vote on the various Associated Press awards.
Also, unlike 2012, when each voter had one and only one vote, the current process has the voters submit a five-person ballot. If Lamar is first or second on enough ballots, and if Allen gets a smattering of, say, first- and second- and third-place votes, Lamar could end up with more total points.
If the Chiefs secure the top seed in the AFC (their magic number is one), some voters could opt to regard Mahomes as the MVP. Does anyone think the Chiefs would have had a chance to even win their division without one of the greatest players in NFL history running the offense?
For Jackson, it will help to win the division. Since Peterson in 2012, no player from a wild-card team has won it. In fact, every MVP since 2013 has been a quarterback from a team that earned a bye.
That’s been true even with only one bye per conference. Which would make the quarterback of the top seeds in the AFC and NFC the presumptive favorites, based on the 11-year voting trend.
Which opens the door for Goff and Darnold, depending on whether the Lions or Vikings emerge with the top seed in the NFC. For both teams, the path is clear. Win in Week 17 and Week 18, and win the top seed and the bye.
The point, for now, is this: There’s still a lot of football to be played. Jackson had a much better game in Week 16 than Allen. How the various high-end teams perform in the final two weeks will matter.
Thus, while Allen might be the betting favorite, no one knows what will happen until the voters submit their ballots in the days after the regular-season ends. It’s hard enough to predict the outcomes of games. It’s even harder to predict how 50 people will vote when the time comes to do so.
So, basically, ignore the odds. It could be Allen. It could be Jackson. It could be Barkley. It could be Mahomes. It could be Goff or Darnold. It could be Barkley.
It could even be Burrow, if the Bengals manage to make it to the playoffs.
For most quarterbacks, tripping over an offensive lineman’s feet while scrambling leads to a bad outcome but Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow turned it into a highlight on Sunday.
After driving the Bengals from their own 1-yard-line to Cleveland’s 2-yard-line in the first quarter, Burrow found himself falling to the turf after tripping over center Ted Karras while climbing the pocket to evade rushers. He spotted wide receiver Tee Higgins and flipped the ball to the wideout for a touchdown just before his knee hit the ground.
Fellow wideout Ja’Marr Chase compared it to something Houdini would do and Burrow was at a loss to explain just how he pulled the play off.
“I was parallel,” Burrow said, via a transcript from the team. “I don’t know how I threw it, but that one was pretty cool.”
Burrow has excelled at the more conventional throws — Sunday’s game made it seven straight contests with 250 yards and three touchdowns for Burrow — and his play is a big reason why the Bengals remain in the playoff hunt despite a 4-8 start to the year. If he keeps his streak going on Saturday, there’s a good chance the Bengals will beat the Broncos and set the stage for a wild Week 18 in the AFC.
