Tennessee Titans: Why two key injuries could prove costly for the Bengals against the Titans
The Tennessee Titans play host to the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs this Saturday at 3:30 CT in Nissan Stadium. After having won its first playoff game since 1991, QB Joe Burrow and the Bengals' potent offense are firing on all cylinders. However, the Bengals’ Wild Card victory over […]
The Tennessee Titans play host to the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs this Saturday at 3:30 CT in Nissan Stadium. After having won its first playoff game since 1991, QB Joe Burrow and the Bengals' potent offense are firing on all cylinders. However, the Bengals’ Wild Card victory over the Las Vegas Raiders did not come without a cost.
The Bengals defense took a couple of major hits over the weekend. Cincinnati’s best interior defensive lineman Larry Ogunjobi suffered a foot injury that will force him to miss the rest of the playoffs. Ogunjobi is a valuable piece to Cincinnati’s defensive front, finishing with a career-high seven sacks this season, which ranks third on the team. He has also been a key factor in stopping the run. With his presence on the defense, the Bengals ranked fifth in the league during the regular season, holding teams to just 102.5 rush yards per game.
Depth will be a major concern for the interior of that defensive line as well. Backup DT Josh Tupou was sidelined for the wild-card game as he is dealing with an ACL injury of his own. Tupou’s absence made room for the Bengals to elevate practice squad DT Mike Daniels to the active roster. However, in Daniels’ lone snap of the contest, he injured his groin, which is likely to force him to miss the rest of the postseason.
The worst news to come out of Cincinnati over the weekend involves the Bengals' most dominant pass rusher, Trey Hendrickson. Hendrickson exited the game with a concussion and his fate for Saturday’s AFC Divisional Round lies in the hands of the doctors overseeing concussion protocols. Hendrickson came to Cincy from New Orleans in the offseason and recorded a career-high 14 sacks during the regular season — good for fifth in the NFL. While losing Ogunjobi is certainly significant, Hendrickson’s availability will undoubtedly impact the outcome of Saturday’s contest in which the winner advances to the AFC Championship Game just one win shy of Super Bowl LVI.
Even with Hendrickson in uniform, the Bengals will have their hands full. Titans RB Derrick Henry is set to make his return in what undoubtedly will be raucous Nissan Stadium after going down with a Jones Fracture in Week 8’s win over the Indianapolis Colts. Even if Henry is not quite at 100 percent, the Bengals will need all hands on deck if they plan on slowing down the most feared back in the league and escape with a road playoff win for the first time in the franchise’s 53-year existence.
Featured image courtesy of Albert Cesare / The Enquirer / USA TODAY Sports
