From the day he showed up until the final game, the Bengals were thrilled with right tackle Amarius Mims. The rookie played as big as his draft day selection of 18th in the first round and his NFL scouting combine measurements of 6-8, 340 pounds.
And Orlando Brown Jr., Mims' 6-8 bookend at left tackle, went even bigger this week as the offseason began when he uttered the extra-large words of "All Pro."
"Hopefully, we're having two All-Pro tackles here in the future,' Brown said. "He was extremely productive. He worked his tail off. He came in with an extremely positive attitude and he only got better. I think that's what you're going to continue to see through his career. The trajectory headed upwards. Continuing to get better and to work hard."
Brown knows how hard those first-team All-Pros are. He's got four Pro Bowls, but no All-Pros. Mims left for a vacation saying his goal is the Pro Bowl next year and that it won't be long before he returns to Dallas to work with offensive line guru Duke Manyweather.
"I know what kind of player I want to be. I know what's expected of me," Mims said. "From year one to year two needs to be the biggest jump, in my opinion."
His biggest jump of his rookie year may have come during last Saturday night's finale in Pittsburgh. It was almost a full-circle moment given how his season began on draft night when former Alabama coach Nick Saban, in his role of analyst, questioned Mims' consistency.
Mims missed most of last season at Georgia with an ankle injury that required surgery and when he returned to play in the SEC title game, he re-injured it and missed the Orange Bowl.
"He played only the first 15 plays of the game and then he's out. Takes himself out," Saban said of the SEC title game. "You've got to be a little bit more consistent in your performance if you're going to be a great player and a starter in the National Football League."
Mims showed all of that when he came off the bench Saturday to play 14 snaps with a broken hand when his backup, Cody Ford, exited with a chest injury. Most of Mims' plays came in a series that straddled the third and fourth quarters and consumed 11 plays and 8:31 before ending in a field goal.
"He stepped up, man, and I know he's got a lot of pain. I'm proud of him going in there and delivering," said Bengals head coach Zac Taylor postgame.
Mims got help from tight end Drew Sample against Steelers sackmaster T.J. Watt on some of those snaps and on some he didn't. When the dust cleared Saturday, Ford, who also gutted up and came back in, teamed with Mims for a remarkable combined no-hitter.
Watt, who came in with 14 sacks in 14 games against the Bengals with 53 tackles, seven passes defensed and six forced fumbles, had none of those. Watt didn't show up on the stat sheet.
"We knew going into that game Cody was the best option," Mims said. "Coach had faith in me as an emergency. I felt like Orlando and Cody did a great job.
"It's the league. You've always got to be ready no matter what. Injuries bother everybody. It's about being available. The whole hand situation, I'm still dealing with it."
Mims is putting a Pro Bowl in his sights for next season while putting his rookie year in the rearview mirror.
"Just watching all my games. Come back even better," Mims said. "I don't put a good or a bad on my rookie year. I just put there's a lot I need to fix and I'll continue to fix."
SLANTS AND SCREENS
Kicker Evan McPherson, the Bengals all-time leading postseason scorer, didn't get a shot to expand his total when the Broncos eliminated the Bengals from the playoffs. But McPherson, who missed the last five games with a groin injury, was optimistic about being able to go if they had made Sunday's Wild Card Game in Buffalo.
"I was going to test it and see how my body felt. I was optimistic," McPherson said this week.
Since getting hurt Dec. 1 against the Steelers, his third such injury in four seasons, McPherson has been canvassing veteran kickers who have been in the league a long time and have overcome a similar injury.
"The best thing to do is rest, rehab, and make sure everything re-connects itself back to 100 percent and go from there," McPherson said of the advice. "I'm trying to understand ways to fix it and prevent it, and better understand my body a little bit more, and going through this is going to help me a lot."
McPherson, 25, heads into his fifth NFL season thinking as much about his physical regimen as he is his kicking after his career-low 72.7% field-goal percentage. He says he's going to get in better shape and keep seeking out veterans.
"I don't feel old." McPherson said. "I like to think my body can take anything, but obviously it can't. I'm going to figure out ways to protect my body from injury. It's happened three out of four years and this year was the worst. I'm going to talk to guys who have had similar injuries, but have had long careers." …
The Bengals signed Cade York to replace McPherson, and it gave York the chance to keep his winning streak alive with college teammates Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase. They have yet to lose with York as their kicker. He was LSU's kicker for the 15-0 national champs and York never lost a game as McPherson's replacement in the five-game winning streak to end the season ...
Running back Chase Brown (ankle) said he was definitely playing in Buffalo even though he tried to go in warmups but couldn't play in Pittsburgh.
"It felt really good through the week. I did literally everything possible to put myself in position to play," Brown said this week. "When I started moving around, started pushing, it didn't feel good enough to play in an NFL game. To go out there injured and not being fully confident in my ability, it's a selfish thing if I were to go out there."
But he felt better about Sunday's Wild Card he'll have to watch.
"I wouldn't have missed that game," Brown said. "I wouldn't have missed it. I definitely could have gone." …
No one had to tell Brown he was ten yards away from his first 1,000-yard season.
"Trust me, i wanted to get that," Brown said. "To be 10 yards away, it's hard. It's just motivation for next year. A chip on my shoulder."
