The Bengals (3-6-1) lost Green to a hamstring injury suffered while trying to make a catch on the third snap of their 16-12 loss to Buffalo (5-5) on Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium, and he never returned. NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported Green has a tear that is believed to be significant but the Bengals did not have any updates immediately following the game.
Green is among the league’s top receivers this year with 964 yards and four touchdowns on 66 catches. Among the Bengals’ receivers, Brandon LaFell is No. 2 with 419 yards and Boyd adds 349 yards – both with 33 catches.
“It’s hard to see one of our best guys go down, unsure of his injury status, but we have to make sure all the receiver corps comes in tight together to make plays together to pull off the win,” Boyd said.
The Bengals ended up punting on their opening series, then gave up a 75-yard scoring drive, but responded with one of their own. Boyd had two catches for first downs on that drive, including an 11-yard grab to put Cincinnati on the Bills’ 6-yard line, and Andy Dalton ended up capping it off on a 2-yard scramble.
Boyd continued to make plays in the first half, catching five passes for 46 yards, and grabbed his first career touchdown in the second quarter on a one-yard pass on third down to give the Bengals a 12-10 lead, which held to halftime. The offense fell flat after that, though, recording one first down before the final drive with four consecutive three-and-outs. Boyd led all receivers with 54 yards on six catches.
“I definitely knew I had to step up in a way,” Boyd said. “I knew somebody had to do it, not saying guys weren’t already initially thinking about stepping up when their name was called, but losing one of our best players, it’s like, ‘Somebody has to do it,’ and in that case, we all had to do it.”
Dalton said some of the plays were designed to get the ball more to Boyd, but he also earned more looks by getting into a good rhythm. Tyler Eifert, meanwhile, was limited to three catches for 37 yards.
Boyd called it bittersweet that his first touchdown came in a loss, but hopes it is the breakthrough he needs to take his game to the next step.
“It was an awesome feeling just to finally know that I had my first career touchdown, but I just wish my first touchdown would have been on a win,” he said. “At home, that would have been one of the biggest feelings for me, a memorable moment, but at the end of the day we’ve got to keep playing games and continue to keep fighting.”
The Bengals will have to make more adjustments going forward if Green misses significant time.
“It’s always a big factor (losing a player like Green),” running back Jeremy Hill said. “He’s our leader and the best playmaker we have. When you lose him, it definitely hurts the team. Guys have to step up and that’s what they did. The (next) drive we went down and scored. It wasn’t enough for the four quarters of the game. Definitely missing A.J. was a big piece, and hurt us a lot. We have to step up and make plays.”
About the Author