Cincinnati looks to get its offense going, despite Joe Burrow’s recent calf issues, and will need a better performance from the defense than last week’s loss at Tennessee.
Here are five things to know about the matchup Sunday:
1. Will Burrow be more mobile?
Burrow said Wednesday he was feeling the best he has after a game this season and that was showing up in his mobility, but that has been the big weakness in the offense while he’s dealing with calf soreness and limited in his movement.
Teammates and coaches insist the Bengals can still run an efficient offense without Burrow moving outside the pocket and extending plays; however, it hasn’t shown up in a game yet. Even in their one win, the defense and special teams led the way.
Taylor re-iterated his confidence in Burrow this week, telling local media on Friday he looked really good and accurate with his passes in practices.
The Cardinals aren’t as well known for their pass rush, so that could help as Burrow has been seeing a lot more pressure through four games this year. A stationary target is easier to reach, so it doesn’t necessarily take a dominant pass rusher to wreck the gameplan. Arizona ranks 25th in scoring defense, allowing 25.5 points per game, and 26th in net offense while surrendering 374.5 yards per game.
2. Injury concerns of note
Outside of Burrow’s calf, which didn’t even land him a designation on the practice reports this week, the Bengals have a few concerning injuries that could impact their lineup Sunday.
Wide receiver Tee Higgins did not practice in full all week and is considered “day to day” with a rib fracture, and cornerback Chidobe Awuzie landed on the injury report after hurting his back in practice Thursday. Then, Trey Hendrickson popped up with a “did not participate” designation Friday because he also has a back issue. All three are questionable.
Higgins ran some routes and caught passes on air Friday, in limited participation, and did not rule out playing this week but said it will depend on pain management. Taylor was going to wait until Saturday to make a decision on Higgins, and Awuzie and Hendrickson could be gameday decisions.
Meanwhile, cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt was back to full participation Friday after progressing through concussion protocols, and tight end Irv Smith resumed full practice by Thursday. Taylor-Britt is still questionable, but Taylor was optimistic. Smith is available, and only linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither (knee) is out.
The Cardinals have designated defensive end Jonathan Ledbetter (finger) and cornerback Garrett Williams (knee) as out, while offensive linemen Dennis Daley (ankle) and Will Hernandez (back), backup running back Keaontay Ingram (neck) and starting linebacker Josh Woods (ankle) are questionable. Daley, a tackle, returned from IR this week. Hernandez is Arizona’s starting right guard.
3. Ready to tackle
The Bengals struggled with missed tackles last week and have not done well against the run in their three losses, so those are issues they need to clean up Sunday as the Cardinals have been successful in their ground attack. They had 222 yards rushing in their lone win over Dallas and rank sixth in rushing yards this season.
Josh Dobbs has the fifth most rushing yards for a quarterback this season with 141 yards and one touchdown on just 24 carries. One of those was a 50-yard run in Week 2 against Dallas, but that shows he’s capable of making explosive plays with his legs. James Conner ranks third with 318 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 62 carries.
Dobbs also has been an efficient passer, completing 70.2 percent of his passes – the seventh best percentage in the NFL – for 203.5 yards per game.
“He’s a great runner,” Bengals safety Dax Hill said of Dobbs. “He really can take a hit, and he’s good with his arm, hitting intermediate and short throws. He’s been in the league for a while now. He’s in a different spot, so he kind of knows the game a little bit. I’ve heard he’s an intelligent guy, so he knows how to make smart decisions. Really, it’s just trying to contain him the best we can.”
4. Converting on third downs
Although the offense has been getting decent yardage on first and second downs, third down conversions have been too scarce. The Bengals rank tied for 26th in third-down conversion percentage at 33.93 percent – down from 46.91 percent last year when they were fourth best in the league.
Fortunately for Cincinnati, Arizona’s defense ranks among the bottom three of the league in opponents’ third-down conversion percentage, allowing teams to convert on 51.11 percent of those situations. The Cardinals also rank 25th in scoring defense, allowing 25.5 points per game, but they have managed to stay in games – two of their losses are by four points.
“There are key moments in the game that happen in the first quarter, the second quarter that we got to find a better job capitalizing on to create momentum for our whole team and then who knows, maybe it snowballs from there and get a lot of points and get a lot of turnovers (on defense),” Taylor said.
5. Consistency in the running game
With Burrow’s struggles, it would seem the Bengals should be relying more on the run than they have, but offensive coordinator Brian Callahan said there needs to be more consistency, and of course, it helps if they can play with a lead and dictate the tempo.
Callahan pointed out that Cincinnati has tried to be balanced on offense, and 12 of 25 base down plays last week were runs or throws that came out of an RPO. In the second half against the Titans, though, the Bengals didn’t get the ball until four minutes left in the third quarter and they were trailing by 24 at that point.
Joe Mixon has been solid for the most part when given the opportunity, averaging at least 4.3 yards per carry in three of four games. His season average of 4.1 yards per attempt, if the season ended now, would be his best since 2018.
“I’ve been relatively pleased with the run game and how Mixon has run, where our production has come from,” Callahan said. “I think we need more of it because we have these runs that look great, 10, 12 yards, really good run, and then we’ll come back with two runs that go for two yards. And that’s a challenging mix. It’s sort of a really good run or nothing and that’s hard to balance. We need a little bit more efficiency overall to feel better about calling more of those runs too.”
SUNDAY’S GAME
Bengals at Cardinals, 4:05 p.m., Fox, 700, 1530, 102.7, 104.7
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