With Cody Ford announced as the starting left guard, the Bengals made a significant shift in their interior starting offensive line for Sunday against the Steelers.
Cordell Volson has been their starting left guard since he came into the league as a fourth-round pick in 2022. He has started 47 straight games including playoffs and is the only player on the club who has played in every snap of the last three regular seasons and the 2022 postseason.
Since '22, when the Bengals signed center Ted Karras and right guard Alex Cappa in free agency, those three have started every regular-season game.
There's a sense that the Bengals believe Ford has won the left guard spot after how well he played the last three games at left tackle in place of the injured Orlando Brown Jr.. Brown returned Sunday after injuring his fibula against the Eagles on Oct. 27.
Ford, a sixth-year player and Brown's college teammate at Oklahoma, has eight NFL starts at left guard with the Bills and Cardinals, as well as five starts at right guard, 15 at right tackle, and these last three at left tackle.
It's a huge matchup because Ford faces a Pro Football Hall of Fame candidate in the Steelers' Cam Heyward. Heyward caused problems long before Steelers all-time sack leader T.J. Watt appeared on the Pittsburgh left edge in 2017.
Heyward has the second-most sacks in Steelers history (he eclipsed old friend James Harrison earlier this season), and one of them came on Volson's first career snap in the 2022 opener.
That's also one of Heyward's 13.5 against the Bengals, the most sacks any active player has against them. Watt has had an easier time with Baltimore and Cleveland, teams he has sacked each 17 times. He's got a dozen against the Bengals.
LEAPIN' LEMAR
Bengals Ring of Honor candidate Lemar Parrish, the only cornerback with at least eight Pro Bowls not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, took a bow Sunday as The Ruler of the Jungle.
Six of those Pro Bowls came in his eight seasons with the Bengals before he played five more years, primarily in Washington.
With the Steelers coming in here as perennial league-leaders in blocked kicks and two 50-yard aces kicking field goals for both teams, here's a guy who was true force on special teams.
To go with his 47 career interceptions, Parrish had 12 return touchdowns, and in 1974 he had a year for the ages. He took two punts back and his 18.8 yards per return average for the season is still the league's best since the 1970 merger.
And one of his four career pick-sixes came against the Steelers.
SLANTS AND SCREENS
Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson (knee) missed his first start in 37 straight games when he went on Sunday's inactive list …
Rookie wide receiver Isaiah Williams made his Bengals debut after being claimed off waivers from the Lions three weeks ago and he'll be returning kicks because both wide receivers/returners Charlie Jones (groin) and Trenton Irwin were inactive.
Willams, an undrafted free agent out of Illinois, returned one kick for the Lions for 36 yards …
Also inactive were defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins (illness) and tight end Tanner McLachlan …
Six of the Bengals' seven losses have been by one score. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is tied for the best winning percentage in one-score games since the merger with Tony Dungy at .615, just ahead of Don Shula's .612 …
The Bengals have won five straight at home in December and quarterback Joe Burrow has won six straight overall. Tomlin has the third most December wins since he came into the league in 2007 with 46. Only Andy Reid (53) and Bill Belichick (51) have more …
