MORE INJURIES: As expected, rookie cornerback DJ Ivey, the seventh-round pick, has been ruled out for the year with a torn ACL, an injury overshadowed by what happened to Reader. But it’s a significant blow to special teams and the secondary, where his 4.3 speed and maturity had been beginning to emerge. He got hurt in his role covering punts as a gunner, but cornerbacks coach Charles Burks began considering him a back-pocket option as the season wore on.
Chase missed time last year with a hip injury and in the four games he was out, they went 3-1 and wide receiver Tee Higgins came up big in wins in Pittsburgh (nine catches for 148) in Tennessee. And those were two games running back Joe Mixon was inactive.
Now they’re back in Pittsburgh without Reader, Joe Burrow, and maybe Chase, but Taylor has been there before. Burrow is certainly there in spirit.
“Burrow was on the headset yesterday talking, I was texting with him last night and he said, I just never know how much to say,'” Taylor said, “and I said, ‘I’ll tell you when to shut up, trust me.’ I am not scared to tell people to shut up on the headset. But guys like that are invaluable to be on the sidelines. They see it from a different lens than we do.”
PLAYOFF WATCH: No matter what happened Sunday, the Bengals remained in the playoffs as the sixth seed and according to The New York Times, raised their playoff chances from 25 to 36% with the win over the Vikings, meaning the three-game winning streak has taken them from 2%.
Even though the NFC Bears and Cowboys offered no help Sunday, when the Bears blew a 17-7 lead in the fourth quarter in Cleveland and Dallas got run over in Buffalo as the Bengals try to get their 3-6 AFC record back in the mix when it comes to tiebreakers.
Taylor says he’s not paying attention.
“I just know if we could just continue to win, I think we’re in good shape, so just win and that way you…
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