KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ As anticipated when head coach Zac Taylor launched his inactive record for Sunday's sport towards the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, huge receiver Tee Higgins (hamstring) will miss his second straight sport.
Tight finish Tanner Hudson (knee) who missed follow Wednesday and Friday, is energetic however it wasn't clear how a lot he'll play.
So the inactive record is similar because it was final week for the opener. Right sort out Amarius Mims (pectoral) was restricted all week, and defensive sort out Kris Jenkins Jr. (thumb) had surgical procedure every week in the past Friday. Rookie tight finish Tanner McLachlan and rookie defensive finish Cedric Johnson seem to be wholesome scratches.
JOE-PAT AGAIN
This is a type of NFL video games the place the quarterbacks truly match the hype in Sunday's showdown between the Bengals' Joe Burrow and the Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes.
With a win, Burrow can turn out to be the one quarterback to beat the two-time Super Bowl MVP 4 occasions. With a win, Mahomes ties Tom Brady and Pro Football Hall of Famer Roger Staubach for essentially the most wins ever by a quarterback in his first 100 profession begins with 76.
But when Burrow met the press final week, Sunday and Mahomes had been nowhere close to his ideas.
“Sunday comes when Sunday comes,” Burrow mentioned. “I am focused on learning from the practice today. Coming out and having a good day tomorrow and going from there. You stack practices together you are going to go out and play continually better on Sundays. That is what I'm focused on right now.”
Burrow had a sluggish begin in 2022 when he threw 4 interceptions within the opener and bounced again to set a career-high with 35 landing passes in his second 4,000-yard season.
Burrow admitted to feeling his method round within the pocket when he stepped on the sector for the primary time in practically a 12 months final Sunday.
“That is always tough when you are coming back from injury and haven't played in a while,” Burrow mentioned. “I wasn't quite sure how I was going to feel. That's part of it. Week 1, nobody is panicking. Sat up here and said that before. Unfortunately, we are in the same spot after Week 1, but we got another opportunity on Sunday and 15 more opportunities after that to go and get better and show what we are all about.”
If he does what he did in '22, Burrow would be part of Mahomes with 30 landing passes and 4,000 yards in three of his first 5 seasons. Josh Allen and Dan Marino are the one different ones who've achieved it.
MIRROR MEN
The Bengals and Chiefs secondaries are a mirror of one another when it comes to drafting and creating.
After the Chiefs allowed Bengals huge receiver Ja’Marr Chase a rookie-record 266 yards and then 103 extra to Higgins a month later within the 2021 AFC title sport, they started and ended the subsequent draft by choosing cornerback Trent McDuffie within the first spherical and cornerback Jaylen Watson within the seventh spherical. Now they're Sunday's starters. So is security Bryan Cook, a second-round choose in that draft.
The Bengals have additionally stayed younger. They, too, took their Sunday beginning cornerbacks within the 2022 draft, Dax Hill within the first spherical and Cam Taylor-Britt within the second. Hill was drafted as a security, however the Bengals doubled down on the nook the subsequent season after they took DJ Turner within the second spherical and he is their first cornerback off the bench.
Over this offseason, each groups misplaced their No. 1 cornerbacks in that '21 championship sport when new Titans head coach and outdated buddy Brian Callahan grabbed each the Bengals' Chidobe Awuzie and the Chiefs' L'Jarius Sneed in free company. Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo and his reverse quantity in Kansas City, Steve Spagnuolo, are banking on growth.
“I just think we're all in that mindset these days. You know you're paying particular players, and you're going to get some younger guys, and we have to develop,” Anarumo mentioned earlier this week. “They actually have achieved it on the highest stage, successful the Super Bowl, and having the ability to flip over, dropping L'Jarius Snead, and put one other man on the market to take his place.
“Spags does a great job. Their whole coaching staff does. I feel we're in the same mold in terms of getting younger guys and developing them, and sometimes it just takes a little more time than others. But I feel like we're on the right track.”
JA'MARR CHASING
In his 5 profession video games towards the Chiefs, Chase averages 107 yards on seven catches and has a complete of 4 touchdowns. He did not have a landing final week to go along with his six catches for 62 yards, which places him on tempo to make historical past.
Chase wants 80 catches on 1,000 yards, and seven landing receptions in 2024 to turn out to be the primary participant in NFL historical past to attain these numbers in every of their first 4 seasons.
He may be part of former Bengal A.J. Green on an elite record. He wants six video games with a minimum of 100 yards to turn out to be the fourth participant with 20 or extra 100-yarders in his first 4 seasons. Green had 20, Justin Jefferson 29, and Randy Moss 23.
