On Sunday, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow took five sacks and 10 total hits against the Texans.
One of them had chiropractic powers.
Microphones caught Burrow after the game thanking defensive end Will Anderson Jr. for popping Burrow’s rib back into place. It was regarded by most as an exaggeration.
A new clip posted on Twitter by the NFL has Burrow telling receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins during the game on the sideline that, indeed, a hit popped his rib back in place.
“Then afterward it felt better,” Burrow said.
Burrow had been listed on the injury report all week with a back injury, and the Bengals elevated veteran quarterback Josh Johnson from the practice squad for Sunday’s game. Burrow told Jay Glazer of Fox Sports that the situation was being “blown out of proportion.”
Apparently, the truth was that a rib had been knocked out of its location.
It remains to be seen whether he has any conditions for which Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt can treat him on Sunday, when the Bengals visit the Steelers.
Texans Clips
At this point, it’s still unclear how much time Alec Pierce will miss after departing last night’s loss to the Chiefs.
Pierce hopped off the field after aggravating the heel he had surgically repaired during the offseason.
Via James Boyd of TheAthletic.com, head coach Shane Steichen said in his Monday news conference that the team is “still gathering information” on Pierce. Steichen added he doesn’t know if Pierce will be able to play Week 3 against the Texans. Steichen did not have any additional information.
But Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports that Pierce is seeking a second opinion on his heel.
Pierce was on the field for just 17 snaps before he had to exit Sunday’s game. He caught one pass for 11 yards.
So far in 2026, Pierce has registered five receptions for 72 yards.
No team wants to start a season 0-2, but the Texans would seem to be the likeliest team in the league to shrug off a sluggish start to the year.
DeMeco Ryans became the team’s head coach in 2023 and they went from 0-2 to the playoffs. An 0-3 start last year didn’t stop them from doing the same thing and the Texans went on to win Wild Card games in each of those seasons, so one might think that would be a talking point in Houston in the wake of Sunday’s 20-6 loss to the Bengals.
After Sunday’s game, Ryans was asked if there’s anything to take away from past seasons and he did not find any bright side.
“Nothing. We got to go to work,” Ryans said at a press conference. “We got to go play good football. That’s bottom line. It’s nothing to look back on of what happened in the past. This team right now, [the] 2026 Texans have to dig deep, look down — all of us, look down, look deep within ourselves and see how we can find a way to play better football.”
While the Texans might not take solace from history, the present is also kind to them. The Titans and Colts are also 0-2 while the Jaguars are 1-1, so it doesn’t look like the division is going to be running away from them. A trip to Indianapolis is on tap in Week 3 and a win there would make for a much brighter outlook in Houston.
The Bengals defense is not the same defense as last season.
The Texans were 0-for-4 in the red zone, with their only points coming on two field goals, and the Bengals won 20-6.
Cincinnati ran its record to 2-0 in 2026, only the third time in its history that it has started 2-0. Houston lost its first two games for a second consecutive season. The Texans rallied from an 0-3 start last season to make the playoffs.
The Bengals sacked C.J. Stroud four times, with Cedric Johnson getting two and Jonathan Allen and Shemar Stewart each getting one. The Texans were 5-of-17 on third down and 0-for-4 on fourth down, and they gained only 60 yards on 18 carries as prize offseason acquisition David Montgomery ran for 10 yards on six carries.
Stroud led the Texans in rushing 29 yards on three carries.
Stroud threw a career-high 55 passes, completing 30 for 353 yards without his three top receivers. Nico Collins was inactive; Jayden Higgins is on season-ending injured reserve; and Tank Dell is still working his way back from his 2024 leg injury.
The Bengals had only 267 yards and punted eight times, and Joe Burrow was sacked five times. But Burrow, who was limited in two practices last week with a back injury, threw touchdown passes of 32 and 18 yards to Ja’Marr Chase. Chase, who had only two catches for 12 yards in the season opener, caught seven passes for 75 yards. Tee Higgins made five receptions for 95 yards.
Chase Brown ran 20 times for 80 yards.
Ja’Marr Chase scored his second touchdown of the day, on an 18-yard pass from Joe Burrow.
The Bengals lead 17-3 with 3:03 remaining in the third quarter.
Chase, who had only two catches for 12 yards in the season opener, has six receptions for 70 yards. His first touchdown covered 32 yards as he made a poster catch around Texans cornerback Derek Stingley.
Chase caught two passes for 26 yards in Week 1 of 2025 before14 receptions for 165 yards and a touchdown the following week against the Jaguars.
Burrow, who was limited in two of the three practices last week with a back injury, is 17-of-25 for 179 yards and two touchdowns.
Ja’Marr Chase has a habit of starting slowly in Week 1 and blowing up in Week 2. He had two catches for 12 yards last week in the season opener.
The Bengals receiver made one of the best catches you will ever see with 3:29 left until halftime Sunday. His 32-yard touchdown, despite tight coverage from Derek Stingley, brought back memories of Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham’s catch over Cowboys cornerback Brandon Carr in 2014.
Chase has four catches for 48 yards, and the Bengals lead the Texans 7-3 at halftime in a defensive battle.
The Texans have outgained the Bengals 208 to 156, with three sacks of Joe Burrow. But Houston is 0-for-3 in the red zone, with drives ending at the Cincinnati 16, 18 and 19.
The Texans twice turned it over on downs, including once when holder Kai Kroeger dropped a snap on a chip-shot field goal from the 16-yard line. Kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn kicked a 37-yard field goal with 1:17 remaining in the half.
The Bengals were called for a false start on Dalton Risner on a 58-yard field goal that Evan McPherson made and decided to punt.
Burrow is 12-of-19 for 129 yards and a touchdown, and Tee Higgins has caught four for 72. Chase Brown has seven carries for 42 yards.
Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud has completed 15 of 24 passes for 182 yards. Tight end Dalton Schultz has four catches for 68 yards. David Montgomery has only 10 yards on six carries.
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow called it “ridiculous” to think he might miss Sunday’s game in Houston because of back tightness and he is active for the Week 2 matchup with the Texans.
Burrow’s health became a talking point this week when he was limited in practice on Wednesday and Thursday, but he returned to full practice on Friday. The Bengals still listed him as questionable for the team’s first road game of the season.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Burrow felt normal while going through Friday’s practice, but was very sore earlier in the week. The Texans pass rush could exacerbate that soreness if they’re able to get to Burrow early in Sunday’s game.
Bengals at Texans
Bengals: WR Ke’Shawn Williams, CB Josh Newton, OL Connor Lew, DL BJ Hill, DL Landon Robinson, QB Josh Johnson, OL Myles Hinton
Texans: TE Brevin Jordan, WR Nico Collins, LB Jake Hummel, CB Collin Wright, G Ed Ingram, OT Nate Thomas, DE Jadeveon Clowney
Panthers at Falcons
Panthers: LB Pat Jones, TE Ja’Tavion Sanders, QB Haynes King, CB Chau Smith-Wade, LB Tyrel Dodson, OT Albert Reese, DT Bobby Brown
Falcons: QB Tua Tagovailoa, QB Michael Penix, DB Billy Bowman, DB Malcolm DeWalt, OL Ethan Onianwa
Saints at Ravens
Saints: RB Kendre Miler, QB Zach Wilson, DB Decamerion Richardson, LB Isaiah Stalbird, DL Christen Miller, OL Mason Murphy, DL John Ridgeway
Ravens: QB Joe Fagnano, WR Zay Flowers, G Andrew Vorhees, OT Gerad Lichtenhan, LB Teddye Buchanan, DL Nnamdi Madubuike
Vikings at Bears
Vikings: QB Kyler Murray, WR Jauan Jennings, DB Zemaiah Vaughn, DB Jakobe Thomas, OL Nick Samac, OL Caleb Tiernan, DL Elijah Williams
Bears: QB Case Keenum, DE Jamree Kromah, DT Jayden Loving, OT Ozzy Trapilo, OL Jordan McFadden
Steelers at Patriots
Steelers: CB Joey Porter Jr., WR Michael Pittman Jr., QB Drew Allar, QB Will Howard, G Gennings Dunker, DT Kevin Jobity, DT Gabriel Rubio
Patriots: CB Carlton Davis, OT Dametrious Crownover, OT Walter Rouse, TE Tanner Arkin, DL Leonard Taylor, QB Behren Morton
Packers at Jets
Packers: CB Benjamin St-Juste, OL John Williams, OL Travis Glover, DT Warren Brinson, DT Javon Hargrave
Jets: CB D’Angelo Ponds, S Minkah Fitzpatrick, K Blake Grupe, RB Kene Nwangwu, LB Joseph Ossai, LB Trevin Wallace
Browns at Buccaneers
Browns: QB Taylen Green, LB Justin Jefferson, S Daniel Thomas, CB Toriano Pride, C Parker Brailsford, G Teven Jenkins
Buccaneers: CB Ayden Garnes, CB Jacob Parrish, G Luke Haggard, G Billy Schrauth, DL DeMonte Capehart, DL Elijah Simmons
Eagles at Titans
Eagles: QB Tanner McKee, QB Cole Payton, WR Elijah Moore, LB Jonathan Greenard, G Micah Morris
Titans: CB Cor’Dale Flott, LB James Williams, OL Atonio Mafi, OL Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson, TE Kylen Granson, DT Jackie Marshall
Bengals defensive end Shemar Stewart will make his season debut on Sunday.
Stewart, the 17th overall pick in the 2025 draft, missed the first game with a hyperextended left knee.
He left the team’s first training camp practice with his injury.
“Obviously, the talent we drafted in the first round, that’s why he’s here,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said, via Ben Baby of ESPN. “And so I’m just excited to get him back in the fold and get him some reps.”
Stewart’s rookie season was marred by missed time, because of a contract dispute, as well as injuries. He had a lingering ankle injury early in the season and a torn posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in Week 9.
He appeared in eight games with six tackles and a sack.
The NFL fined Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair $11,941 for writing the name “Hind Rajab” on his eye-black strips during a Week 1 game against the Bills. On Friday, Al-Shaair explained his decision to publicize the name of the five-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed, along with six family members, by Israeli forces in 2024.
“I think everybody knows what it’s about,” Al-Shaair said, via D.J. Bien-Aime of ESPN. “I think that was the point. Because before that, probably most of you guys might not even know who she was. That’s kind of the point.
“There a lot that goes on in the world, not just overseas, right here in our own country. . . . This past Tuesday, a friend of mine, literally just sitting there crying in front of me on the phone, come to find out her cousin, who’s been here since he was five years old, got detained on the way to a concert and is being deported. Mind you, he has no family, no nothing over there. And that was my first interaction, my first experience, with somebody that I personally know. . . .
“There’s a lot of issues that I speak on, that’s really just to shed a light, because a lot of people don’t care nothing about it. . . . We’re blessed to be able to have the comforts of, you know, living in the United States and not having to worry about certain things, but there’s issues here and all over the world that, you know, when you talk about even what happened with Hind Rajab and her family, those are taxpaying dollars that we’re — as Americans — are paying, that are being used to bomb innocent men, women, and children. So that’s really what that was about.”
Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving offered to pay the fine. Al-Shaair said that he and Irving “align on the cause, which is humanity; we both care about humanity.”
“Regardless of skin color, race, anything like that,” Al-Shaair said. “That’s what I think, more than anything, when it comes to me and him, that we align on, and just not being afraid to do that. . . . We don’t have to have all the answers to everything to know that an innocent man, an innocent woman, an innocent child losing their life is not right. Like, I don’t need anybody to gaslight me into saying that, ‘Well, you gotta ask. . . .’ I just know that’s not right, whether they’re here in America or somewhere halfway across the world.”
It remains to be seen whether Al-Shaair will have a similar message during Sunday’s game against the Bengals, and whether the league will threaten to keep him from playing if he does.
If the Texans are going to beat the Bengals on Sunday, they’ll have to do it without a few key players.
Houston has ruled out receiver Nico Collins, starting guard Ed Ingram, edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney, and linebacker Jake Hummel for Week 2.
Collins suffered a hamstring injury during practice on Wednesday and did not participate on Thursday or Friday.
Collins — Houston’s top receiver — caught seven passes for 75 yards with a touchdown in last week’s loss to the Bills.
Ingram was limited with a groin injury on Thursday before he did not participate on Friday.
Clowney (knee) and Hummel (groin) also did not practice on Friday.
Offensive tackle Trent Brown (hand/wrist) and linebacker Wade Woodaz (thumb) were both full participants on Friday. Neither Brown nor Woodaz has a game status, with both expected to play.
Houston will be at home on Sunday to face Cincinnati at Reliant Stadium at 1 p.m. ET.
