Quick Hits | Cincinnati Bengals - bengals.com

There are 100 (catches, yards) reasons Ja'Marr Chase could be playing for Sunday. But the biggest is being with his guys.

It turns out the Bengals won't get a chance Sunday (1 p.m.-Cincinnati's Local 12) to continue to make Browns quarterback Joe Flacco miserable in Paycor Stadium. But when Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski announced old friend Jeff Driskel as his starter, it marks the first time in the 54-year history of  "The Battle of Ohio," that a quarterback has started a Bengals-Browns game for both teams.

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor and Captain Sam Hubbard are all in for Sunday's regular-season finale against Cleveland (1 p.m.-Cincinnati's Local 12) at Paycor Stadium. "Our No. 1 objective is to win this game by any means necessary."

KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ Even before Pro Bowl wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase got on the plane Saturday for the trip to Sunday's game against the Chiefs, there was the sense he was going to try and play with his sprained shoulder against the Chiefs.

Bengals captain Mike Hilton is being, well, Mike Hilton as he eyes another trip to Arrowhead Stadium with everything on the table Sunday (4:25 p.m.-Cincinnati's Local 12) against the Super Bowl champion Chiefs with a motivation left over from last year's game.

Bengals Pro Bowl wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase plans to tell head coach Zac Taylor if he can play hours before Sunday's game (4:25 p.m.-Cincinnati's Channel 12) in Kansas City.

Lou Anarumo, who seems to be Tony Romo's favorite defensive coordinator, also has a fan in Bengals cornerback Chidobe Awuzie heading into what could be the third straight year of another win-or-else game in Kansas City (4:25 p.m.-Cincinnati's Local 12) for Cincinnati.

The call came at 6 a.m. in Pittsburgh that her water broke. Sonny Brown was two weeks early and his dad is grateful that his mom is so understanding.

Bengals defensive captain Sam Hubbard calls it a two-game season and The New York Times agrees with him.

PITTSBURGH _ With the Bengals needing reinforcements in three key areas for Saturday's virtual play-in playoff game here against the Steelers, a pair of veterans were set to make their season debuts coming off the practice squad in cornerback Sidney Jones IV and defensive tackle Domenique Davis while rookie wide receiver Shed Jackson comes off the squad to play in his third game of the year.

Pro Bowl wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase (shoulder) is the only Bengal who didn't practice full Wednesday, the biggest workout of the week in prepping for Saturday's game (4:30 p.m.-Cincinnati's Channel 5) in Pittsburgh.  A tough guy not to have, but that injury report is one of the reasons why the Bengals' Zac Taylor should be in discussion for NFL Coach of the Year. 

As the 8-6 Bengals head to Pittsburgh for Saturday's AFC North showdown (4:30 p.m.-Cincinnati's Channel 5) with the 7-7 Steelers, right end Trey Hendrickson finds himself locked in a close race himself with Steelers All-Pro T.J. Watt. Hendrickson, who broke his own Bengals record last Saturday against the Vikings and became the franchise's first 15-sacker in a season, trails Watt's NFL-leading 16 sacks.

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor confirmed Sunday what everyone knew Saturday when Pro Bowl-worthy nose tackle DJ Reader was carted off the field at Paycor Stadium after the Bengals' second defensive snap of a long day that culminated in a 27-24 overtime win over the Vikings.

Bengals left end Sam Hubbard, the Cincinnati Kid, had just seen one go down in Paycor Stadium lore and like the 66,376 that watched the 27-24 overtime win over the Vikings, he was trying to process all the heroics fit for a season-full of highlights shoehorned into the final 21:49 during their biggest fourth-quarter comeback since 2015.

If Bengals quarterback Jake Browning hangs close to the 79.3 completion percentage of his first three starts in Saturday's game against the Vikings at Paycor Stadium, he'll break Chad Pennington's NFL record of the 76.9% he put up in his four starts in 2002 ...  About 30 of Ted Karras' biggest fan bussed down Saturday from Indianapolis ....

News Item: Leon Hall is Ruler of the Jungle at Paycor Stadium for Saturday's game (1 p.m.-Cincinnati's Channel 9 and NFL Network) against the Vikings. OK kids, think about a cornerback as smooth as DJ Turner II, as physical as Cam Taylor-Britt, and as feisty and as savvy in the slot as Mike Hilton.

Ja'Marr Chase meets old friend Justin Jefferson in Saturday's game (1 p.m.-Cincinnati's Channel 9 and NFL Network) at Paycor Stadium that pits the two best wide receivers in the league as a sidebar in a 7-6 interconference playoff skirmish between Chase's Bengals and Jefferson's Vikings. At least that's how Chase sees it.

Here's the matchup of Saturday's game (1 p.m.-Cincinnati's Channel 9) at Paycor Stadium when Bengals quarterback Jake Browning sees a familiar face in that Vikings secondary he faced during the first three training camps of his career.  Browning, coming off the most accurate games ever by a quarterback in his first three NFL starts since 1950, faces off against old friend Harrison Smith, the vet Vikings safety with the second most interceptions on the active list with 34, one behind Patrick Peterson.

More notes and quotes from the Bengals win over the Colts.

Bengals Pro Bowl left tackle Orlando Brown Jr., fresh off his offensive line's 385-yard-no-sack clinic against the Colts, glimpsed what his team is all about when AJ McCarron fired what looked to be his first NFL touchdown pass in eight years in his first game back in the league in three years.

The Colts defense comes into Sunday's game at Paycor Stadium with the second-fewest blitzes in the league, but the Bengals have a not-so-secret weapon if they decide to test quarterback Jake Browning.

At the urging of the kid's father, T.J. Houshmandzadeh talked to an LSU freshman wide receiver and counseled him to never get outworked. Five years later Houshmandzadeh is urging Ja'Marr Chase to break his single-season Bengals record of 112 catches.

Bengals center Ted Karras may have gone to high school in Indianapolis, but he came of age in Cincinnati and that's why he says his "huge," contingent headed down I-74 East for Sunday's game (1 p.m.-Cincinnati's Channel 12) at Paycor Stadium against the Colts is going to be blanketed in black and orange. Karras, clearly touched by the Bengals nominating him for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award, tried to put it into words Wednesday.

Jordan Palmer, the old Bengals backup quarterback turned guru, is one of the guys who has helped Jake Browning along the way.

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor doesn't have a timeline for the return of No. 1 cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt with a sprained ankle that has knocked him out of his second straight game. Which means cornerback Chidobe Awuzie is going to be needed to take the bulk of the snaps like he was last week when the Bengals face the Jaguars' high-flying  offense Monday night (8:15-Cincinnati's Channel 9, ESPN).

A few words of encouragement from the Bengals' greatest backup quarterback as they head into Monday night's game (8:15-Cincinnati's Channel 9 and ESPN) at Jacksonville.

Monday night game's vs. Jacksonville takes center stage ... Zac Taylor relying on guys like captain DJ Reader ... Tee Higgns, Cam Taylor-Britt, and Logan Wilson all have a chance to play vs. Jags ... Brian Callahan talks Ja'Marr and a bit of philosophy ...  

Bengals quarterback Jake Browning, who used to stun his high school coaches back in California when he would tell them exactly what they would see on the film as he came off the field, took that gift into his first NFL start Sunday at Paycor Stadium and can tell you exactly what happened on the turning point play.

Heading into Sunday's Almost Wild Card game at Paycor Stadium (1 p.m.-Cincinnati's Channel 12), Ja'Marr Chase is sounding more and more like a leader and not just the record-breaking two-time Pro Bowl wide receiver.

Bengals middle linebacker Logan Wilson not only saw what head coach Zac Taylor said, but how he said it.

BALTIMORE _ Like Bengals right tackle Jonah Williams said after Thursday night's 34-20 loss to the Ravens here at M&T Bank Stadium, "News to me."

BALTIMORE _ Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow may not have two-time 1,000-yard wide receiver Tee Higgins for Thursday night's game here at M&T Bank Stadium, but he does have some numbers on his side.

The last time the Bengals played the Ravens, they had seven possessions. When they played them last year in Baltimore, they had nine. When they play them Thursday night, they don't expect to get more than that against the NFL's No. 2 defense and No. 1 running game. But Bengals Pro Bowl quarterback Joe Burrow says the reduced possessions won't make him hit his "aggressive," switch right away.

The AFC North is the NFL's version of demolition derby and when the Bengals play at first-place Baltimore Thursday night they'll try to knock out some dents as well as take a bumper off the Ravens' playoff bus still driving with the NFL's No. 2 defense despite Sunday's smashup with Cleveland.

Imagine where Sunday's game would have ranked on the Bengals' list of comebacks.

Only Ja'Marr Chase and wide receivers coach Troy Walters stayed on the goal line outside the Bengals locker room after a five-man confab during pregame of Sunday's Bengals-Texans game at Paycor Stadium. When the tennis balls started flying it confirmed Chase (back) was going to be active on a day running mate Tee Higgins (hamstring) wasn't.

If Bengals Pro Bowl quarterback Joe Burrow has been the man the last month leading the NFL in passer rating and completion percentage, then what about his main man Ja'Marr Chase averaging a league-leading nine catches per game the last five weeks? Chase, the two-time Pro Bowl wide receiver, said after Thursday's limited practice that he's got a bruised back and he's a "last-minute," decision for Sunday's date (1 p.m.-Cincinnati's Local 12) at Paycor Stadium against the Texans.

Two years ago, Ken Riley II stood on the Paycor Stadium turf to receive his father into the inaugural Bengals Ring of Honor. On Sunday night, the son brought the family back to accept his Pro Football Hall of Fame ring.

Ja'Marr Chase continues to go where no Bengals receiver has gone. Except maybe Chad Johnson. The only man to win four straight AFC receiving yardage titles says he plans to show up at Paycor Stadium for Sunday night's  (8:20-Cincinnati's Channel 5) conference showdown between the Bengals and Bills, and says he'll pay the fine.

With the Bengals hosting the Bills Sunday night (8:20-Cincinnati's Channel 5) in Paycor Stadium's city of stripes,   it is November now. In the last two seasons, that's when Bengals Pro Bowl quarterback Joe Burrow has become a stone-cold killer.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. _ The man tried to tell Bengals head coach Zac Taylor that the 49ers very rarely lose here at Levi's Stadium, but like his team did all day in a 31-17 clinic they never trailed against the NFC iron of the 49ers, he beat him to the punch.

The Bengals circled last week's bye when it came to getting Pro Bowl quarterback Joe Burrow and his calf close to fully healed and it sounds like a week of vegging on the couch has got him pretty much at 100% for Sunday's game (4:25 p.m.-Cincinnati's Local 12) against the 49ers at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.

Bengals Pro Bowl left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. doesn't miss games. He's only missed one during his six NFL seasons and with big-money sacker Nick Bosa and prototype left tackle Trent Williams looming in San Francisco Sunday (4:25-Cincinnati's Local 12), he says he won't miss that one, either.

The Cincinnati Kid is a sack away from tying a Cincinnati icon and tag team partner Trey Hendrickson is hot on his heels as the Bengals' Bash Brothers cool the blistering bookends of one of the NFL's steamiest pass rushes this weekend during the bye.

Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo calls them his "Core Four," and they got the call during Monday's ceremony in the defensive meeting room that happens after each win.

On his 24th birthday Sunday in front of 66,385 crazed Paycor Stadium party-goers, Bengals second-year cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt didn't let the bully from Seattle spoil the bash.

Sunday's game at Paycor Stadium (1 p.m.-Cincinnati's Local 12) has a menagerie of matchups, both obscure and ordained, as the 2-3 Bengals look to head into the bye week saying bye-bye to 3-1 Seattle's three-game winning streak:

While Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase gave the ball for his club record 14th catch to his dad after Sunday's game in Arizona, running back Joe Mixon planned on getting tips from his dad on pass blocking.

The Oscar-looking contraption that Sam Hubbard had gag-gifted Trenton Irwin during the last holiday season as an homage to his youthful acting career stood a satisfied sentry on the top shelf of Irwin's locker Monday afternoon in the Bengals locker room.

GLENDALE, Ariz. _ Pro Bowl wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase, off yet another outing that shattered the Bengals record book with 15 catches, had a big smile after Sunday's 34-20 win at State Farm Stadium over the Cardinals. "Is Joe Burrow back?" he was asked.

Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase thought he was getting called on the carpet when head coach Zac Taylor summoned him to his office this Monday after the loss in Tennessee.

Maybe Joe Burrow's strained right calf has prevented him from moving around the pocket with his usual deftness, but it hasn't stopped him from stepping up in the Bengals locker room. From Athens to Arizona, where the Bengals play Sunday (4:05 p.m.-Cincinnati's FOX 19), Burrow has always been the leader of his team and so he was in the palpable moments after Sunday's 27-3 loss in Nashville when he spoke to his mates.

Bengals captain Sam Hubbard, also known as "The Cincinnati Kid," and a son of the scarlet and gray, purposefully wore his gray Buckeye Battle Cry T-Shirt to work Monday at Paycor Stadium.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. _ After Sunday's 27-3 loss to the Titans here at Nissan Stadium, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor zeroed in on third down on both sides of the ball.

Look at the three games pitting the Joe Burrow Bengals against the Mike Vrabel Titans and you get a pretty good idea what is going to transpire Sunday (1 p.m.-Cincinnati's FOX 19) in Nashville.

If you want to know how the Bengals offensive line did Monday in Super Bowl LVI.V, don't go to the websites and the podcasts. Go to the adjoining lockers of center Ted Karras and left guard Cordell Volson about a half-hour after the Bengals beat the Rams.

The best news that came out of the Bengals' utterly necessary 19-16 win over the Rams Monday night, besides not having to incessantly hear for the next five days how they have less than a three percent chance to make the playoffs at 0-3, is that quarterback Joe Burrow's strained calf feels better now than it did after last week's game against Baltimore.

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said after Friday's practice that they'll be without quarterback Joe Burrow for several weeks and wouldn't say what that means for the Sept. 10 opener in Cleveland.

Cautious optimism prevailed in the Bengals locker room after they watched Pro Bowl quarterback Joe Burrow leave the field late in Thursday's sweltering practice at the Kettering Health Practice Fields with a calf issue.

Even though right tackle La'el Collins begins training camp on the physically unable to perform list (PUP) as his ACL rehab continues and his timeline is unknown, Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan says this is pretty much the best offensive line in his five years on the job. More from training camp media luncheon.

New Lakota East High School head coach Jon Kitna, the former Bengals quarterback who won the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year award 18 years before Joe Burrow, is a big fan. Kitna and his son Jordan, who happens to be his offensive coordinator, watched Burrow work as visitors at Wednesday's mandatory minicamp practice on the Paycor Stadium field.

Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow met the media for the last time before training camp Tuesday and went into the summer thinking about hiking. As in scaling a mountaintop that is already inhabited. "Being the best in the world. I think that's always been my goal," mused Burrow when asked about a list.

Even a coach who has watched Joe Burrow throw footballs since he was also taking snaps in the secondary can still tingle when Burrow rips off another one as the Bengals Pro Bowl quarterback.

While La'el Collins rehabs a torn ACL, the Bengals face the possibility of having a different Opening Day right tackle again for quarterback Joe Burrow, but there is no shortage of options and an intriguing one is new veteran Cody Ford.

Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow may be letting his hair grow but he's not letting it down. When he showed up for his first media appearance of the spring Tuesday, Seamless Joe had his signature game week laser focus ... Ja'Marr Chase-ing T.J. Houshmandzadeh ... Receivers connect with Damar Hamlin ...