CINCINNATI — Bengals working again Joe Mixon won’t play Sunday in opposition to the Tennessee Titans after not being cleared from concussion protocols, coach Zac Taylor stated Friday.
“We’ll be capable of defend him for an additional week with that concussion,” Taylor advised reporters.
Mixon, who didn’t observe this week, left Sunday’s win in opposition to the Pittsburgh Steelers within the first half and didn’t return. He isn’t anticipated to journey with the workforce this weekend.
Bengals huge receiver Ja’Marr Chase is questionable for Sunday’s sport after lacking the previous three video games with a hip harm. Whereas quarterback Joe Burrow stated Wednesday that the workforce expects Chase to play, Taylor was coy about Chase’s standing Friday, saying that Chase seemed good as he returned to observe this week.
This would be the first sport Mixon has missed to harm since 2020. In 10 video games this season, Mixon has 605 speeding yards and 6 touchdowns. The sixth-year working again has additionally been a key asset within the passing sport. He has already matched final yr’s whole of 314 receiving yards, a profession excessive, regardless of enjoying in six fewer video games.
With Mixon out, Samaje Perine is anticipated to get the majority of the offensive snaps. Trayveon Williams and Chris Evans, who was out final week with a knee harm, are on monitor to play Sunday.
Perine is coming off a profession sport by which he caught three landing passes — a franchise file for a working again — in opposition to Pittsburgh.
“It ain’t acquired nothing to do with this sport,” Perine advised ESPN on Friday. “You simply acquired to return in each week, week in and week out, and be ready to play.”
Perine and Mixon have benefited from a Cincinnati run scheme that has leaned closely on gap-based runs in latest weeks.
“I do not know if we’re getting extra motion or what,” Perine stated. “However as an offense usually, if you transfer to gap-scheme kind of stuff, it is labored for us, I feel, extra so as a result of [of how our offensive] line works. They love downhill working.”
Cincinnati (6-4) goes up in opposition to a Tennessee protection that is without doubt one of the greatest at stopping the run. The Titans (7-3) are second within the league in speeding yards allowed per sport and have defensive sort out Jeffery Simmons, who has earned reward from Bengals gamers and coaches main as much as Sunday’s sport.
Taylor stated Cincinnati’s strategy will stay fixed regardless of Mixon’s absence.
“We’re nonetheless going to play the fashion of ball that we predict is greatest to play on this sport,” Taylor stated.
