Young corner Shaw relishes Brady challenge

Josh Shaw, the youngest regular contributor on the Cincinnati Bengals’ defense, relishes the opportunity to face the highly-touted Patriots offense.

The second-year cornerback said a chance to derail Tom Brady’s home debut Sunday at Gillette Stadium is as good as any for the Bengals secondary to prove better than it’s shown through five games, as well as how far he’s come, individually, in a short time.

Brady led the league in Week 5 with 406 yards passing and three touchdowns in his return from suspension Sunday against the Browns.

“They have a lot of good weapons on offense and Brady takes advantage of what the defense gives him, so we have to go out and execute,” Shaw said. “We’ve got really good players in this secondary, and I don’t think we’ve yet put that one dominating performance out there as a secondary. We know it’s coming. We just have to keep jelling and working together and it will come because we’ve got the players and the want. This is a good opportunity for us to show what we can do.”

Shaw is getting plenty of opportunities, mainly in the nickel. He has played 136 snaps on defense through five games (43.3 percent), compared to a total of 116 last year (10.7 percent).

The 24-year-old out of USC has 18 tackles and one interception that sealed a 23-22 win over the Jets in the season opener, and he graded as the team’s top defensive back through the first four games, according to ProFootballFocus.com.

“For me, I think there are higher expectations this year just because I’m out there on the field with the guys,” Shaw said. “On defense, I’m probably the youngest guy playing, but it’s nothing I’m not prepared or ready for or don’t embrace. I fully embrace the opportunities I get.”

Injury report: Wide receiver A.J. Green missed practice Wednesday with a calf injury.

Green suffered the injury with five minutes left in Sunday’s 28-14 loss at Dallas after catching a 5-yard pass on fourth-and-3 to extend the team’s second touchdown drive. Green returned for the final play of the drive, which was the last offensive snap of the game for the Bengals.

Also sitting out were tight end Tyler Eifert (back/ankle), linebacker Karlos Dansby (non-injury related) and left guard Clint Boling (shoulder). Eifert hasn’t practiced since injuring his back Oct. 3. Boling suffered the shoulder injury in the Miami game and was listed as questionable for Dallas, but he played all 70 snaps.

Four were listed as limited — running backs Jeremy Hill (chest) and Rex Burkhead (hamstring), safety George Iloka (shoulder) and tight end C.J. Uzomah (ankle). Wide receiver James Wright, who missed the Dallas game with a hamstring injury, was a full participant.

Giving back: The Bengals will host a TeamSmile program, sponsored by Procter & Gamble, on Friday to provide complimentary dental care and instruction to 300 underserved children in the Greater Cincinnati area.

Bengals mascot Who Dey and players will appear at the event. Approximately $400-$600 worth of preventive dental care, per child, will be performed.

TeamSmile is a non-profit organization that has created partnerships with professional sports teams, local dentists, dental organizations, dental schools and area volunteers to help promote the importance of dental care.

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