Surging Bengals to face the reeling Steelers.
Pittsburgh (AP) — Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has suffered a second ligament tear in his right wrist in less than a month.
No amount of quarterback improvement by backup Jake Browning, no amount of defense by Lou Anarumo, no amount of game-changing takeaways by Zac Taylor’s defense, no matter who’s in and out of the lineup, is going to change that.
“We’ve talked a lot about being our best in December and January,” Taylor said. “If you look back over the last two years, everything we’ve done, from the offseason to training camp to the regular season, has been focused on being our best now. And these past three weeks, we’ve been pretty damn good.
Cincinnati (8-6) has won three in a row and has a chance to solidify its playoff position while all but extinguishing Pittsburgh’s (7-7). But none of that will matter when the two teams meet on Sunday at Acrisure Stadium.
The Pittsburgh Steelers, who have lost three in a row, have much bigger issues. The offense is in disarray, with quarterback Kenny Pickett out for the third game in a row while recovering from a right ankle injury. The defense has three safeties out with injury or suspension, and the wide receiver, George Pickens, has defended himself against criticism for his sometimes-lackluster play-calling, which he attributes to “media people” who haven’t played in the NFL.”
While Tomlin has no intention of benching Pickens, even with the season on the line, he also believes the past few weeks have taught him and Pickens a valuable lesson: “If you don’t do your job and you lose, don’t be a mouthpiece,” the coach said, “and that usually brings a certain amount of attention, including the vulture kind.”
The vultures are only going to keep coming if the Steelers don’t get it together soon.
RUDOLPH’S FIRST START
It’s Rudolph’s first start in over two years as the Steelers’ backup quarterback to Pickett. Tomlin benched Trubisky after he didn’t play well in losses to Arizona, Indianapolis and New England.
Rudolph, who is 28 and one of the team’s oldest players, has spent the past two seasons on the third-string offense. His teammates praise him for his professionalism, but Rudolph dismissed the notion that he’s an inspiration. “It would only be inspiring if we won, wouldn’t it?” he asked.
INJURY WATCH
Bengals WR JAE’MAR CHASE OUTSATURDAY
Chase, the team’s top receiver, is out for the season after spraining his AC joint in the shoulder in last week’s game against the Vikings. His absence puts pressure on tight end Tyler Boyd and Higgins, who both made critical catches late in last week’s win over Minnesota.
We’ve been without Ja’Marr for a long time,” Callahan said, “and we’ve been without Tee for a long time. There’s a lot of other guys out there that have to step up, and that’s the nature of it right now. You look around the league, and there are a lot of other teams that are going through the same thing, and guys have to step up and keep playing their best game and keep finding ways to win games.”
“I wrote to Joe that night and said, ‘I just don’t know how to talk,’ and I told him, ‘I’ll tell you when it’s time to be quiet,’,” Taylor said.
“Burrow was talking on the headset during last week’s win over Minnesota,” Taylor said. “He was giving me advice on play calls when he thought it was appropriate.”
So I’m not afraid to say no to the headset. But again, it’s people like him who make it worth it to sit on the sidelines. They see things from a different angle than we do, so his point of view is invaluable.
