The resurgent Cincinnati Bengals defense is likely to again be without its best player Sunday against one of the NFL’s best offensive teams.
Trey Hendrickson, who hasn’t played since Oct. 26 against the New York Jets, is already listed as doubtful for Cincinnati’s crucial showdown against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
Hendrickson is nursing a reported hip/pelvis injury that has sidelined him for the Bengals’ past four games. Cincinnati (4-8) is 1-3 without him but ended its four-game losing streak with an impressive 32-14 win over the first-place Baltimore Ravens on Thanksgiving night.
The Bengals trail the Ravens by just two games — and could earn the tiebreaker if they can beat Baltimore in Cincinnati on Dec. 14. But the Bengals defense has allowed just 17.6 points-against per game over their past three games — Cincinnati has surrendered three defensive scores in that span.
Trey Hendrickson Is Doubtful For Sunday’s Game Against The Bills
The Bengals are still lingering in the hunt for the AFC North title but will likely need to win out to have a chance at finishing better than both the Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers.
So with a long week off Thursday’s momentum-building win, Cincinnati fans were hopeful their team’s game-wrecking EDGE rusher would be on the field against the reigning AP NFL MVP Josh Allen and the Bills, who are fifth in the NFL in points per game (28.1).
Yet, Bengals coach Zac Taylor put a pin that balloon quickly.
“He’s doubtful this week,” Taylor said when asked if Hendrickson was in the mix to play.
Hindsight is always 20/20, but with Hendrickson about to miss his fourth straight game, which prompted a reporter to ask if the Bengals were considering placing him on injured reserve.
“No, we’ll just keep taking him week to week,” Taylor said before saying “yeah” when asked if the Bengals expect to have him back before the regular season ends next month.
According to Taylor, Hendrickson has not participated in all off-field team activities, since he has been working hard to get back on the field.
“Mostly rehab stuff with the [athletic] trainers,” Taylor said.
The Bengals May End Up Shutting Down Trey Hendrickson Soon
Presumably, every game is a must-win game for Cincinnati after it went 1-7 without quarterback Joe Burrow. But if the Bengals can overcome the Bills this week without Hendrickson — no easy task, since Buffalo is 8-4 and occupying the final AFC wild-card spot — they could have for their final four games.
Two of Cincinnati’s final four games are divisional affairs, including the date with Baltimore looming in Week 15. The Bengals’ likely lone path to the postseason centers around winning the division — which has suddenly become a possibility after their surprising road win in Baltimore.
So having a more healthy Hendrickson for the Ravens game is more important than having him against Buffalo, who leads Cincinnati by four games with five to play.
But if the Bengals lose against Buffalo, they could consider shutting down Hendrickson to fully recover.
Still, Hendrickson likely wants to get back on the field since he is on the verge of unrestricted free agency and has only four sacks and three tackles for loss in seven games, which both rank second on Cincinnati.
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