FRIDAY INJURY REPORT
CINCINNATI BENGALS
–OUT: LB Vontaze Burfict (concussion), T Cordy Glenn (back), CB Dre Kirkpatrick (ankle), CB Tony McRae (concussion)
–QUESTIONABLE: WR Josh Malone (hamstring)
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS
–OUT: RB Melvin Gordon (knee), CB Trevor Williams (knee)
–DOUBTFUL: TE Sean Culkin (back), DT Brandon Mebane (not injury related)
PLAYER NOTES
–WR A.J. Green became the 15th player to land on injured reserve Wednesday and will miss the rest of the season after reinjuring the toe that kept him out of three games. Green finished with 46 receptions for 694 yards and six touchdowns.
–CB Davontae Harris was activated from injured reserve to fill the roster spot of WR A.J. Green. Harris was placed on IR Sept. 3 with a knee injury and returned to practice on Nov. 14.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: WR Tyler Boyd is officially the top receiving option for the Bengals after WR A.J. Green was placed on injured reserve Wednesday. Boyd is among the few bright spots for an offense averaging 16.2 points in its four-game losing streak. Boyd has 69 receptions for 938 yards and six touchdowns. Boyd has been targeted at least 10 times in three games and it seems likely he will approach that figure again.
GAME PLAN: The Bengals seemed to emphasize their run game a little more in the last two weeks by attempting 20 and 23 carries respectively after carrying 16 times the previous two games when they fell behind by big margins early. It will be interesting to see how the play-calling goes should wide receiver Tyler Boyd face any double teams in his turn as the top receiver after A.J. Green was lost for the season.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH
–Bengals defense vs. Chargers QB Philip Rivers. Rivers is averaging 9.0 yards per completion and getting plenty of time to throw the ball. The Bengals are allowing 7.3 yards per reception. When Rivers doesn’t throw the ball, he can try to victimize a run defense allowing 203.3 yards in the last four games.
–Bengals secondary vs. Chargers WR Keenan Allen. Whoever is in the secondary this week will be tasked with stopping one of the league’s most efficient wideouts. According to Pro Football Focus, Allen is the highest graded receiver in the league and is grabbing 78.3 percent of his targets.
