Pete Brown, the Bengals' late long-time director of player personnel, had a favorite expression.
"The best ability is availability."
Or.
"The best ability is reliability."
Those two axioms came through Friday when Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. and safety Geno Stone are expected to start Sunday (1 p.m.-Cincinnati's Local 12) against the Eagles at Paycor Stadium.
That seemed implausible just five days ago in Cleveland when Brown (knee) spent about 10 minutes in the medical tent and Stone (shin) got carted off the field.
On his bruised leg, Stone runs his streak to 44 straight regular-season games. Meanwhile, Brown continues to tack on to a skein that began the week after he missed the only game of his NFL career in a week 17 game in Cincinnati while playing for the Chiefs in 2021. He comes into Sunday looking to extend his playing streak to 43 straight after he began his career with 63 straight.
"The only one I missed was when we played here in '21, but I was active and could have played in an emergency," said Brown after Friday's practice. "It's serious, but at the end of the day, we've got things to do and I'm a big part of what we do. I feel like I can get my job done at a high level on Sunday."
Brown, 28, has also started all 10 of his playoff games and played all 194 snaps in Kansas City's 2022 title run that included 55 in the Super Bowl win over the Eagles.
"A lot of faith in God. Healthy diet. I take care of my body with physical therapy," Brown said. "I've always put a pretty heavy emphasis on taking care of those things so I can be available with my teammates and coaches depending on me."
BIG BROTHER
You've got twins playing Sunday when Bengals running back Chase Brown and Eagles safety Sydney Brown go at it.
But you've also got adopted brothers lining up with Toledo teammates Tycen Anderson of the Bengals and Quinyon Mitchell of the Eagles. Anderson, a safety and special teams leader in his third season, played with Mitchell on the Rockets defense. Mitchell, a first-round pick, has quickly moved into a starting cornerback role as a rookie with Anderson as a counselor.
"We're brothers. He's somebody I wanted to help. Iron sharpens iron. He made me better, I've made him better," said Anderson as he ticked off Mitchell's first-round assets. "His mindset. He's not backing down from anybody. He's long, physical, he can run. Has good ball skills. Always finishing with the ball."
Anderson also knows plenty about Chase's twin. Last year before he tore his ACL, Sydney Brown led the Eagles with seven special teams tackles, according to Pro Football Focus. Andeson led the Bengals with eight teams tackles last year before he tore his ACL in midseason.
Now both are healthy and are core teams players with Anderson tied for third in the league with six tackles in the kicking game and Sydney Brown racking up one in his first game back last week.
"They play similar. One plays offense, one plays defense," said Anderson of the Browns. "They're fast. They've got gas, they're physical, they play hard, they play to the whistle."
If Chase returns kicks, Sydney has a chance to tackle him.
"We can't let that happen," Anderson said. "We're trying to score touchdowns on kickoffs."
They did last week with wide receiver Charlie Jones the only return man at the goal line before taking off for 100 yards.
BIG PLAY DAY
Bengals cornerbacks coach Charles Burks knows his starters, Cam Taylor-Britt and D.J. Turner, have their hands full Sunday with Eagles wide receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, ranked No. 2 and 38 by PFF, respectively.
They live on the big play: Brown averages more than 20 yards per catch and Smith has that tear-away jersey Heisman speed.
"They both can get to the deepest parts of the field And (Smith) has done a tremendous job in the catch and run element."
Burks is looking at the Eagles' 20-16 win over Cleveland two weeks ago. Brown had a 40-yard catch to go with a 22-yard touchdown, and Smith had a 45-yard touchdown catch. Throw in Brown's 41-yard touchdown catch last week in New York.
The flip side is the Bengals are doing a much better job against the explosives this season. They lead the league in allowing the fewest catches of 20-plus and have allowed only two passes of at least 40 yards after a season in which they allowed 11.
"Each year is different. All three parts of the defense are playing well. That's how you limit explosives," Burks said. "I thought a lot was made of certain people. That's not always the case. You have to look deep into the film. The last few weeks, guys have done a good job executing and honing in on their responsibilities."
The Bengals have allowed three touchdowns in the last two games, and two of them have been set up on pass interference penalties on Turner in the end zone on flags of 18 and 22 yards, respectively.
"What I've told him," Burks said, "is the refs scout players just like we scout our opponents and if he's had some pass interferences, I think he's not going to get the benefit of the doubt. Those calls can go either way. What we have to do is look at how we can be better. Be more aggressive at the catch point. The good thing is he's in position. The thing we need to work on is not put it in the ref's hands."
Burks thinks both Turner and Taylor-Britt have been good in coverage as of late. Turner had a big fourth-down pass defense in New York and according to PFF, has allowed only three catches on ten targets in the last two games.
"The main thing about (Turner) is confidence," Burks said. "That's what I loved about him coming out. He's a confident player and has done well in coverage all year."
He also thinks after some early struggles, Taylor-Britt is getting back to where he was last year. "He just has to finish plays," Burks says, pointing to tight end David Njoku's eight-yard touchdown catch late and wide receiver Cedric Tillman's seven-yard slant early last week in Cleveland.
"He's an aggressive person. That's his game. Stay aggressive. He's in great position."
