The Cincinnati Bengals’ efforts to scrape and claw their way back into relevance took some hits this week following their victory over the Las Vegas Raiders. On the brink of .500, they have lost two significant offensive contributors for the foreseeable future.
That includes TE Erick All Jr., a rookie fourth-round pick who was quickly becoming a staple of their offense. A key blocker in the Bengals’ system, he also recorded 20 receptions. Bengals HC Zac Taylor confirmed yesterday that the rookie tore his ACL during Sunday’s game. “It hurts”, he said, adding that people recognize the role he played in their offense.
In addition to All, the Bengals will also be without RB Zack Moss, one of their options replacing Joe Mixon. Taylor told reporters that the veteran will be out “indefinitely” due to a neck injury. Moss did not play in the Bengals’ win over the Raiders due to concerns over the injury, which now appears to be potentially serious.
While Moss hasn’t held the Bengals’ primary rushing responsibilities, he has been a significant contributor. On the season, he has 242 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 74 carries. Second-year Chase Brown is their leading rusher with 479 yards with four scores. Moss also has 187 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Of course, the Bengals have also had a week-to-week relationship with WR Tee Higgins, who has only played in five of nine games so far, missing Sunday’s game. He is still their third-leading receiver with 341 yards and three touchdowns.
After starting the season 0-3 and then 1-4, the Bengals have won three of their last four games. They stand two games behind the Baltimore Ravens in second place in the AFC North. If they beat the Ravens next week, they will position themselves to make the division race a messy one.
Losing the contributions of All and Moss won’t help, but they still have Ja’Marr Chase, Chase Brown, Mike Gesicki, and the surprising Andrei Iosivas, who has four touchdowns. And at some point, Higgins is bound to be healthy for more than a couple games in a row.
The Bengals still rank seventh in the NFL in scoring offense at 26.2 points per game. It has been the defense that has been their undoing. Minus a late blowout to the Eagles, they have seen positive trends on that end.
Over the next two weeks, the Bengals go on the road to play the Ravens and Chargers before their bye week. Then they host the division-leading Pittsburgh Steelers. What will the AFC North look like by then, with the Steelers facing the Commanders and Ravens in between?
