In his seven-year career, Bengals left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. has played in games his teams have won the AFC North, the AFC West, the AFC itself and the Super Bowl.
So the 6-8, 340-pounder knows what a big game looks like, and that's why it appears he's coming back from the most significant injury of his career to play in Sunday's game (1 p.m.-Cincinnati's Local 12) against the Steelers at Paycor Stadium.
It must be: Before his fibula issue that took him out of the last three games, he had never been inactive for an NFL game.
But after Friday's practice in the IEL Indoor Facility, head coach Zac Taylor said Brown is "in good shape." He was listed as questionable, but after going limited Wednesday and Thursday Brown went full Friday for the first time since suffering the injury in the Oct. 27 game against the Eagles.
Brown and his teammates thought he was playing the best ball of his career when he went down. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Brown led all NFL tackles in pressure rate (3.5%), allowing nine pressures on 256 pass-blocking snaps. The most pressures Brown has allowed in any game this season is three. The matchup to watch besides rookie right tackle Amarius Mims against Steelers all-timer T.J. Watt is Brown against edge rusher Alex Highsmith. Last year Brown gave up eight pressures to Highsmith in two games last season, four in each.
How big is this one? Next Gen Stats say if the Bengals win Sunday, their playoff probability is 23%, but it drops to just 5% if they lose.
ALWAYS SPECIALS TEAMS
Even though Akeem Davis-Gaither could be playing a bunch of linebacker Sunday and safety Jordan Battle has been playing a lot more from scrimmage, this doesn't look to be the week to see the Bengals special teams lineup change.
With Bengals special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons putting Steelers safety Miles Killebrew in the same category of punt rusher as Ravens Hall of Fame safety Ed Reed, it would be tough to move Battle out of his personal protector spot.
Simmons considers the Steelers to have four blocks this year because safety Minkah Fitzpatrick was wrongly called for a leverage penalty on a blocked extra point. According to Steelers.com, the 11 blocked kicks since '21 are the most in the NFL. Dallas has 10, and no other team has more than seven.
Killebrew, a fourth-round pick of the 2016 Lions, played five years in Detroit before ending up in Pittsburgh in 2021 and becoming a first-team All-Pro special teamer last season at age 30.
Sports Illustrated says Killebrew's four career blocked punts are tied for the most this century.
"Miles Killebrew is as good a punt rusher as we've gone up against in my whole time here," Simmons said this week. "That's what he does. He rushes the punter, So he takes a lot of time and preparation for us to identity and recognize where he is on every play."
Simmons compares him to Steelers All-World edge rusher T.J. Watt: "You have to know where he's at, and you're trying to chip him. He affects the whole protection."
Killebrew had two blocks last year and none this year, but four different Steelers have blocks this year if you count Fitzpatrick: Linebacker Jeremiah Moon and defensive linemen Isaiah Loudermilk and Dean Lowry.
It will be recalled Fitzpatrick had a huge block in a Steelers game at Paycor. His tipped extra point following Chase's six-yard touchdown catch with two seconds left denied the Bengals a 21-20 win in the 2022 opener and led to a 23-20 loss in overtime.
"It's the type of players they get and the mindset they have," Simmons said.
MANY UNHAPPY RETURNS
That's what Simmons is shooting for with Steelers punt returner Calvin Austin III coming in seventh in the league with 11.4 yards per return. The Bengals can counter with safety Tycen Anderson, leading all gunners with eight tackles.
"That's the mindset that they take. They try to apply pressure with rushes. But they've also got a better returner now," Simmons said. "They've got somebody they can really hang their hat on in Calvin Austin, so if you spend all your time on protections and don't get out to coverage, this guy will make you pay. They create a lot of pressure points for you."
It's also a great matchup of veteran kicking-game coaches. In his 22nd season with the Bengals, Simmons is the longest-tenured special teams coach in the league. The Steelers' Danny Smith, 70, has been coaching the NFL kicking game since 1995.
10,000-FOOT VIEW
Simmons is also the assistant head coach and has seen Bengals teams make the playoffs with Carson Palmer chucking to Chad Johnson and Joe Burrow flinging it to Ja’Marr Chase. He likes where this club is mentally.
"I thought that the Chargers week in practice was as good a week, as most energetic, as most lively a week of practice since I've been here," Simmons said. "Our Friday practice was as upbeat as you could possibly be. I think it's the energy that you see. How guys are taking practice? Are they still taking notes the way that you want them? Are they still doing all the work away from the building they need to do? The film study, stay in the scouting report?
"I can sense that when they walk in the room. When they walk in the building, or when I ask questions. They know the answers to them before even I ask them, or before I've ever given them the information. They know those things. They've done the background work, extra study time to prepare themselves. And I certainly feel that with our group now. They're prepared."
But Simmons knows there is more.
"We have to finish. We've had a big hand in some of those games not finished," Simmons said. "Execution of certain plays, execution of field goals. We make some of those field goals, it's different. But we've done those in the past. We've just got to get back to building them again. We've made those plays in the past. We just haven't made them. "
WINTER TEE BALL
The Bengals have won five straight home games in December, Burrow has won six straight overall with his biggest game ever in December, and two of Chase's top seven games have come in December, including his career-best 266 yards.
And don't forget wide receiver Tee Higgins. Since he came into the league in 2020, he's second in the NFL with 10 December receiving touchdowns, seventh with 1,228 December yards and 13th in December yards per catch at 15.7.
Plus, five of his 13 career 100-yard games are in December and his career-best 194 yards and 12 catches came in the same game Burrow threw for his high of 525 yards in the Dec. 26, 2021, win over the Ravens at Paycor.
His best outing last season came in Pittsburgh last December with 140 yards on five catches.
SLANTS AND SCREENS
Linebacker Logan Wilson (knee) didn't practice this week and is questionable. He's got a 37-game streak on the line, stretching back to Halloween 2022 …
Davis-Gaither, their special teams captain, has the third most snaps among the linebackers with 158. The fifth and last start of his career came against the Eagles last month when the Bengals started three backers. If Wilson can't go, that leaves vet Joe Bachie and rookie Maema Njongmeta as the third backers …
Bachie (hip) went full Friday for the first time since missing the Nov. 17 game in L.A. …
Wide receiver/returner Charlie Jones (groin) is doubtful despite getting on the rehab field. He didn't practice Friday after going limited Wednesday and Thursday, and it appears he'll miss his fourth straight game …
Mims (ankle) went full after being limited Friday …
Taylor ruled out defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins (illness) for the second straight game …
