The 4-6 Bengals need to string together some wins if they are going to make the playoffs this year and they expect to get a big piece of the puzzle back on the field for Sunday’s game against the Chargers.
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor told reporters at his Friday press conference that wide receiver Tee Higgins is set to return to the lineup. Higgins has missed the last three games with a quad injury and has been a limited participant in practice all this week.
Higgins also missed the first two games of the season and has 29 catches for 341 yards and three touchdowns in his five appearances.
Left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. has missed the last two games with knee and fibula injuries. Taylor said the team will make a decision about his status closer to Sunday’s kickoff.
Bengals receiver Tee Higgins was officially back at practice on Wednesday, potentially setting him up to return for Sunday night’s matchup with the Chargers.
Higgins (hamstring) has been sidelined by a quad injury over the last few weeks but was a limited participant in the week’s first session.
Head coach Zac Taylor said on Wednesday that Higgins and offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr. — who has also missed the last few games — were able to participate in walk-through and both are taking steps in the right direction to play.
But Brown (knee/fibula) officially did not participate on Wednesday.
While quarterback Joe Burrow was a full participant, the Bengals added a left biceps injury to his designation. Burrow has been on the report all season with his right wrist after he underwent surgery to repair the injury he suffered last year.
Linebacker Joe Bachie (hip), defensive tackle B.J. Hill (knee), and receiver Charlie Jones (groin) also did not practice.
Defensive end Trey Hendrickson (neck) and linebacker Logan Wilson (quad) were limited.
After a long weekend following last Thursday’s loss to the Ravens, the Bengals still have uncertainty around the availability of receiver Tee Higgins and offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr.
Higgins hasn’t played in the last three games due to a quad injury while Brown suffered a knee/fibula injury in Week 7 and has also missed the last three contests.
As he often does, head coach Zac Taylor said, “We’ll see” when asked about the two players’ practice availability during his Monday press conference.
“Forty-eight hours, we’ll get on the field Wednesday,” Taylor said, via Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “Did a walk-through today. Everything was positive. We’ll take those guys day-to-day starting Wednesday.”
Brown was closer to playing last week, as he was listed as a limited participant on Tuesday and Wednesday’s injury reports. Higgins was listed as a non-participant all three days.
In five games this year, Higgins has 29 catches for 341 yards with three touchdowns. At 4-6, the Bengals will play the Chargers in Los Angeles on Sunday Night Football in Week 11.
Before Week 10, it wasn’t looking very good for the Dolphins’ playoff hopes. After Week 10, it’s still not looking great — but it’s looking less bleak.
Beating the Rams on Monday was critical, obviously. But three other outcomes have boosted Miami’s shot at the seventh seed.
Currently, the Bills, Texans, and Chiefs are running away with three of the AFC divisions. The second-place team in the AFC North (the Steelers or the Ravens) will likely get one of the wild cards. The Chargers, at 6-3, are surging toward the next spot on the playoff tree.
Then there’s the seventh seed. And with the Bengals losing on Thursday and the Colts and Broncos losing on Sunday, Miami’s win allowed them to pick up a game on the primary contenders for the seventh seed.
Now, Cincinnati is 4-6, Indianapolis is 4-6, and the Broncos are 5-5. At 3-6, Miami still has a shot.
It won’t be easy. They’ll need to keep winning. They’ll need to finish 6-2, at a minimum, to have a chance.
But it’s not over. And maybe the team with a recent history of starting strong and fading down the stretch can turn it around and steal a playoff spot. If nothing else, that will make them better suited to finally win a postseason game for the first time in 24 years.
Jerry Jones might not need to wear his sunglasses at night, on multiple upcoming evenings over the balance of the season.
As noted by Eric Fisher of FrontOfficeSports.com, two or three big-platform Cowboys games could be in danger of being relegated for better teams.
There’s a December 9 Monday night game against the Bengals and a December 22 Sunday nighter against the Buccaneers that could be replaced with something more compelling. Also, the Week 17 rematch with the Eagles currently is set for 4:25 p.m. ET, the key late-afternoon Sunday window. The Fox game could be flipped with Packers-Vikings, which is currently set for 1:00 p.m. ET that day.
The Cincinnati game likely won’t move, for two reasons. One, the Bengals (unlike the Cowboys) will still be postseason contenders. Two, ESPN is already preparing for an alternate broadcast featuring the Simpsons; presumably, the technological wheels are already in motion — and likely can’t be reconfigured to different teams only four weeks from date of the game.
No matter what happens with those games, everyone will be stuck with Giants-Cowboys in the middle window of the traditional Thanksgiving tripleheader. (There’s no flex option yet for Thanksgiving, even if there perhaps should be.)
In 2020, a Cowboys-49ers game was flexed out of Sunday night, due to the mutual struggles of both teams. Hall of Fame receiver Michael Irvin called it a “new low” for the franchise. The night game was regarded as such a given that former Cowboys linebacker Jaylon Smith didn’t know the time had changed until just a few days before kickoff.
At this point, everyone knows the Cowboys are cooked. Dak Prescott is reportedly done for the season, and the Cowboys have been horrendous at home. While plenty of folks might tune in just to enjoy watching the Cowboys further implode, the NFL traditionally has not been interested in the schadenfreude demographic.
Regardless, the way things are going for the Cowboys, most of America will happily forfeit the privilege of watching America’s Team by the time December rolls around.
