The Bengals have been here before. And they look to remain unbeaten in The Ring.
The Bengals are 3-0 on a Paycor Stadium Ring of Honor night, and last year they won their first game of the season when they inducted Chad Johnson and Boomer Esiason.
With Corey Dillon and Tim Krumrie set to be honored Monday night (8:15-Cincinnati's Channel 9), the Bengals are looking for their first win of the year against Washington rookie Jayden Daniels in a Bayou Bowl of quarterbacks.
"That's what you live for. When you're a kid, you watch Monday Night Football, falling asleep before school," said Joe Burrow after Thursday's practice. "I'm excited to be the guy on the TV with that kid watching. That's always an opportunity that I relish."
With that kid watching, that guy who won the Heisman Trophy at LSU before Daniels arrived in Baton Rouge has never lost a primetime home game. The Bengals are 5-0 under Burrow here at night, and he won his only Paycor Monday Nighter in last year's Ring game in a 19-16 win over the Rams.
Their bid to repeat history is urgent.
"It's high," Burrow said of the urgency. "We pride ourselves on us not being able to tell if we win or lose at practice. We're going to go out and have fun and get our work in and get better. So we had a good day today. We've had a bunch of good meetings since Sunday, so we're excited."
The frustration that engulfed him following last Sunday's last-snap loss in Kansas City has lifted.
"I wouldn't say I'm frustrated right now. I was frustrated on Sunday," Burrow said. "We've got to focus on getting better every day through our practice, and go out and execute when we have to execute on Monday, the rest will take care of itself. We're in a fine spot. We've been here before. We're not panicking. We're focused on getting a win and getting better every day."
Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins (hamstring) went limited for his first work since the Sept. 5 injury in practice. So did rookie defensive tackle Kris Jenkins Jr. in his first work since surgery on his thumb. Rookie right tackle Amarius Mims (pectoral) continued to be limited as well.
Starting defensive tackles B.J. Hill and Sheldon Rankins continued to be sidelined by the hamstring injuries they received in Kansas City. Tight end Tanner Hudson (knee) didn't practice.
Safety Vonn Bell (back) and tight end Mike Gesicki (calf) were limited.
ZAC TOWN
Ever since Bell rang JuJu Smith-Schuster in the 2020 Monday Night win over Pittsburgh, head coach Zac Taylor is 6-0 in hometown primetime.
"There are moments you can capitalize on when you grab some momentum and the sideline feels it, the stadium feels it," said Taylor before Thursday's practice. "There are a lot of good memories here over the last several years of playing well in those night games.
"I think everybody that enters the stadium, all of our players that walk out of the tunnel, they feel that and there's that recall there that we play well in this atmosphere and so we've got to go put the work in this week. We've still got a long way to go, but that will certainly be our expectation on Monday."
WASHINGTON MONUMENTS
A week after dealing with Chiefs Pro Bowl defensive tackle Chris Jones, Bengals offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher is looking warily at the Commandeers estimable defensive tackle tandem of Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen.
They allow Washington to have the fourth-highest blitz percentage in the league.
"Many of the same traits Chris (Jones) has," Pitcher said. "These two guys aren't too far behind and there's two of them. Size, explosiveness, relentlessness, attacking style allows them to penetrate and get up the field and collapse the pocket in the pass game, and wreak havoc in the run game … You have to be vigilant, you have to be aware. You have to make sure your scheme accounts."
JOE-JAYDEN
Burrow has been watching the new Tiger King and loves the way he twirls it while striking up a friendship with Daniels.
"He's a dynamic player. I really like his throwing motion. Seems like he can spin it and understands his fundamentals," Burrow said. " I think he's got a bright future. Obviously, he's really fast and quick and dynamic. But I'm not sure he gets enough credit for the passer that he is.
"I saw him when I would go back and I've seen him a couple of times since. Whenever we see each other, we have a good talk."
