Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase will miss his first game of the season due to a right shoulder injury he suffered last Saturday in the 27-24 overtime win against the Vikings.
It will be the second time in the last three games against the Pittsburgh Steelers that the Bengals haven’t had Chase. Last year when Cincinnati traveled to Pittsburgh coming out of the bye, Chase was in the middle of a four-game absence due to a hip injury.
But the Bengals hardly struggled, lighting up the Steelers defense for 37 points and 408 yards for their second victory in what would be a 10-game winning streak.
Who Are the Inactives for Cincinnati Bengals vs. Pittsburgh Steelers?
As was the case in that Week 11 game last year, the Bengals will look to Tee Higgins to offset Chase’s absence. Last year at Pittsburgh, Higgins had nine catches for 148 yards, which was, at the time, and remains, the second-highest total of his career.
Cincinnati quarterback Jake Browning will be without another target today in tight end Irv Smith Jr., who is a healthy scratch all year. Smith somewhat caught in a numbers game as the Bengals need to dress extra bodies on the interior of the defensive line to offset the season-ending quad injury defensive tackle DJ Reader suffered last week.
The Bengals signed Travis Bell off waivers from Atlanta, but he’s inactive today after arriving Thursday morning. Jay Tufele, who has been inactive the last several weeks, is active, and the Bengals have promoted preseason standout Domenique Davis from the practice squad.
The other half of the decision to not dress Smith is simply his production. Tanner Hudson has supplanted him as the top receiving tight end, and Drew Sample and Mitch Wilcox are much better blockers and play a bigger role on special teams. There simply wasn’t room for four tight ends on the active roster today.
The Steelers will be without both starting safeties — three, actually, if you count the suspended Damontae Kazee — as Minkah Fitzpatrick (knee) and Trenton Thompson (neck) were ruled out Friday. And Elijah Riley is questionable with a knee injury after being activated from Injured Reserve.
It will be interesting to see if the Steelers move veteran cornerback Patrick Peterson to safety and have Levi Wallace start at corner, or if they’ll just roll with inexperienced safeties and tell them their only job is to not get beat, which might be a simple assignment given how quickly Browning is expected to get the ball out of his hands against the Pittsburgh pass rush.
Here are the players we know are inactive. The full list will be announced at 3 p.m.
Cincinnati Bengals
- WR Ja’Marr Chase (shoulder)
- TE Irv Smith Jr.
- RB Chris Evans
- DT Travis Bell
- LB Devin Harper
- OT D’Ante Smith
- OL Trey Hill
Pittsburgh Steelers
- S Minkah Fitzpatrick (knee)
- S Trenton Thompson (neck)
- QB Kenny Pickett (ankle)
- CB Darius Rush
Bengals/Steelers Injury Report
Pittsburgh Steelers
Out
- S Minkah Fitzpatrick (knee)
- S Trenton Thompson (neck)
- QB Kenny Pickett (ankle)
- CB Darius Rush
- LB Blake Martinez
- OT Dylan Cook
- DE DeMarvin Leal
Questionable
- S Elijah Riley (ankle)
MORE: What Will Ja’Marr Chase’s Absence Mean for Tee Higgins and the Bengals’ Offense?
Cincinnati Bengals
Out
- WR Ja’Marr Chase (shoulder)
What Are the Starting Lineups for Each Team?
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Quarterback: Mason Rudolph
- Wide receiver: George Pickens, Diontae Johnson, Allen Robinson
- Running back: Najee Harris
- Fullback: Connor Heyward
- Tight end: Pat Freiermuth
- Offensive line (left to right): Dan Moore Jr., Isaac Seumalo, Mason Cole, James Daniels, Broderick Jones
- Defensive line: Cameron Heyward, Keeannu Benton, Larry Ogunjobi
- Linebacker: T.J. Watt, Mykal Walker, Elandon Roberts, Alex Highsmith
- Defensive backs: Joey Porter Jr., Patrick Peterson, Elijah Riley, Miles Killebrew
Cincinnati Bengals
- Quarterback: Jake Browning
- Wide receiver: Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd, Trenton Irwin
- Running rack: Joe Mixon
- Tight end: Drew Sample
- Offensive line (left to right): Orlando Brown Jr., Cordell Volson, Ted Karras, Alex Cappa, Jonah Williams
- Defensive line: Trey Hendrickson, Zach Carter, B.J. Hill, Cam Sample
- Linebacker: Logan Wilson, Germaine Pratt
- Defensive backs: DJ Turner II, Chidobe Awuzie, Mike Hilton, Jordan Battle, Dax Hill
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