Banged-up Bengals Aren’t About To Crumble ‘We Have A Lot Of Different Dudes Just Making Plays And Having Fun’

CINCINNATI – We already know how resilient the Bengals are. We’re about to find out how deep they are.

This was going to be a column about how the Bengals showed their ability to overcome obstacles and still find a way to win.

Now, it feels more like a survival guide.

The Bengals, who made it to Super Bowl LVI thanks to a relatively injury-free 2021 season, suffered an avalanche of injuries Sunday in their 23-10 win over the Cleveland Browns.

Joe Burrow wasn’t sensational Sunday, starting 4-for-12 and finishing 18-of-33 for 239 yards and two touchdowns. His best pass of the day was a dart into the bullseye of Ja’Marr Chase’s stomach for a 15-yard touchdown.

“We had three straight drives where we start deep and we’re not really moving the ball and our defense bailed us out. That first quarter I wasn’t playing very well. I was missing throws. (We) settled in there in the second half of the second quarter and from there we were moving the ball really well. The run game was good to us, Ja’Marr was incredible like he always is, defense played great. Team win — team ugly win but we got it done.”

Burrow knows that as long as the Bengals still have enough spectacular players, their role players are going to step up and make timely contributions.

That’s what these Bengals are. No Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd or Hayden Hurst? They still have Trenton Irwin and Samaje Perine and the return of Joe Mixon. They all played huge roles Sunday. Mixon with his 96 yards on 14 carries. Irwin with his 45-yard TD catch and Perine with his escape act TD run.

“I’ve got so much faith in the guys that come in for those guys. Trent (Taylor) and Trenton are guys that work really hard and know their stuff and are going to be right where I expect them to. That’s really what it comes down to. I see those guys working hard every day and have so much faith in them.”

Let’s start with the most concerning, according to Ian Rapoport and James Palmer of NFL Network, edge rusher Trey Hendrickson broke his wrist in the second half but managed to play in the fourth quarter.

They estimate that he’s expected to “miss a few weeks” but that is usually dependent on the healing powers and pain threshold of the player and, whether or not surgery will be required for the injury.

Hendrickson’s loss is a big blow for a defensive line that had been getting sustained pressure on the quarterback and kept Deshaun Watson mostly in check throughout Sunday’s win.

Making matters worse, his sub on downs where he needs a blow, Joseph Ossai, came out in the third quarter holding his left arm. He went to the tent and did not return. Losing Hendrickson is bad enough. But losing the second-year pass rushing specialist out of Texas makes it worse.

Taylor didn’t update either player’s status postgame but Ossai was seen in the locker room Sunday walking around without any brace on either shoulder so that could be a good sign.

Taylor and Brian Callahan relied on the return of Joe Mixon, whose 40-yard run in the third quarter put the Bengals in position to put more points on the board, which they did on 30-yard Evan McPherson field goal.

Trenton Irwin caught a 45-yard flea flicker touchdown from Burrow. Samaje Perine scored his fifth touchdown in three games on a bounce outside.

“It kind of just shows the type of team we have,” Irwin said. “I don’t think the team really thinks about it a lot. Everyone else talking this and that, they’re going to say what they want. We have a lot of different dudes just making plays and having fun.

“I think we’re deep — we’re definitely deep. But I also think everyone knows their job and everyone knows other people’s jobs too, and I think that shows the type of coaching we have, the players we have invested and our wide receivers coach, Troy Walters — he’s unbelievable. He’s helping everyone know everything.”

This is what great teams do. Players go down. It’s the NFL, a war of attrition. Quality coaches adjust. Role players step up. The Bengals happen to have a good number of both right now.

“This team just kept finding a way,” Taylor told me. “I’ve got confidence here that these players are just going to step up. We really lost Tee in warmups. We lost Tyler Boyd on the second play of the game, offensively. Guys just stepped up.

“There had to be a lot of modifications, but we settled in and found a way to move the ball, and that’s really because our defense allowed us to. They gave us the time by limiting the points off the board to let our offense to find a way take that route there. (Overall, it was a) really good team effort of finding a way to win in December and finish the game.”

Still, we won’t really know until later in the week.

While Hendrickson is getting evaluated, including exploring the need for surgery, the Bengals are hoping they escaped anything serious with Ossai, the man who saved the Chiefs game.

The Bengals are dinged up but let’s remember they lost Ja’Marr Chase and went 3-1. They lost DJ Reader for six weeks. They have both back. They lost Chido Awuzie for the season.

The Bengals have not only learned how to play through injuries, they’re surviving and moving step by step closer to the playoffs.

The Bengals dodged a bullet on defense when Mike Hilton went down in the first quarter holding his right leg. He made his way off the field, to the tent and then came back to play the rest of the game.

Offensively, Higgins tweaked his hamstring in warmups, sneaked onto the field for a snap and then was benched for the rest of the game to prevent further injury. Tyler Boyd dislocated a finger on his right hand on the game’s second play.

Like with Ossai, the Bengals can only hope they escaped serious injury with Higgins and Boyd. Do the Bengals sit Higgins and Boyd against an NFC team (Tom Brady and Tampa Bay) and take their chances with Trent Taylor and Trenton Irwin (who had another huge contribution Sunday) next week in Tampa?

Do they mix in more Chris Evans? Evans was a healthy scratch on Sunday.

Special teams weren’t immune. Clay Johnston was taken out in the second half and evaluated for a concussion.

On Sunday, the Bengals sideline was transformed into a M*A*S*H unit.

This is not to say the Bengals won’t get these players back in 2-4 weeks and be ready for Buffalo three weeks from Monday.

The Bengals have gotten key contributions from a number of depth players on both sides of the ball. They’re going to need that over the next two road games if they are going to stay in the hunt for their second straight AFC North title. Don’t bet against this group.