Most of the chatter surrounding the Cincinnati Bengals on the day of kickoff against the Arizona Cardinals centers on picks for the game and some of the surprise injury report developments.
Namely, the revelation the day prior that Tee Higgins won’t be able to give it a go and the news that the team made a roster move to compensate for the loss.
Buy Bengals TicketsIt’s always interesting to look at some of the expert predictions before the game too, so we’ve looped in some of those before a contest that could decide much about the team’s season.
Here are the must-know Bengals news, notes and quotes for October 8.
Tee Higgins out -- Bengals Wire
In a mild surprise, Higgins won’t be able to give it a go against the Cardinals. He had said he wanted to play through the injury and it might be a matter of pain tolerance, but a rib injury isn’t a simple thing and we can’t know what trainers and doctors had to say on the matter.
Bengals roster move -- Bengals Wire
After the Higgins news, the Bengals revealed a practice squad call-up to help out the wideout depth on gameday. Rookie Andrei Iosivas and Trenton Irwin figure to split the reps.
Is Joe Burrow close to 100 percent? -- Bengals Wire
Joe Burrow managed to stay off the injury report all week and looked mobile in practice. A new quote from head coach Zac Taylor would seem to suggest Sunday could be the best he’s looked all season.
Zac Taylor explains the Ja'Marr Chase talk -- Bengals Wire
Ja’Marr Chase made some waves this week, first for his comments, then for getting called to Zac Taylor’s office. In the wake of that positive meeting, Taylor has explained why he doesn’t mind when Chase speaks out.
Cardinals expert weighs in -- Bengals Wire
We sat down with a Cardinals expert to get an inside look at what makes this underrated team tick and what fans can expect.
One expert picks Bengals to get right -- The Athletic
This is a funny writeup for the pick, with the author swearing they won’t pick the Bengals again for risk of getting burnt…but eventually comes around on the idea.
3 of 5 experts pick Bengals -- NFL.com
Not only do three of the five experts pick the Bengals, the two that go against Cincinnati do so by a combined predicted total of just four points.
Bengals-Cardinals pick with interesting x-factor -- ESPN
Two ESPN experts pick opposites for Sunday’s matchup, with Seth Walder highlighting a key matchup to know: “Bengals guards Alex Cappa and Cordell Volson. They rank 65th and 67th out of 67 qualifying guards in pass block win rate. Burrow is clearly not at 100% and needs better protection if he’s going to get back on track.”
Rushing factor makes Cardinals the pick over Bengals -- CBS Sports
CBS Sports does not like Cincinnati’s chances in this one, pointing out that the Bengals cough up 5.1 yards per rush and have to deal with a strong rushing attack.
