–So, what caused Joe Mixon’s right knee injury? It was not anything related to Thursday’s game. Instead, head coach Marvin Lewis said it was related to an old injury and the second-year running back ad a particle removed from the knee. In 2015, before he suited up in a game for Oklahoma, Mixon injured the knee while stumbling during a run on the stadium steps, but it didn’t cost him any games, only a few days on crutches.
–Linebacker Preston Brown addressed his ankle issue, but also the dysfunction surrounding the Buffalo Bills, whom he spent his first four seasons with. Brown specifically was asked about cornerback Vontae Davis leaving the locker room and retiring at halftime of Buffalo’s 31-20 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. “Something I never thought I would hear about, but I’m glad I’m not on that team,” Brown said. “There’s some weird stuff going on up there.”
–Sunday was a gory day for NFL kickers as league-wide only 76.5 percent of field goals (39 of 51) were made. For the Bengals, kicking isn’t a concern with the steady leg of Randy Bullock. Dating to the 2016 season, Bullock is 24 for 26 on field goals. Bullock made 18 of 20 field goal attempts last season and is four for four so far this year. Bullock’s lofty stats are a popular topic since it was a bloody Monday in Minnesota and Cleveland with Daniel Carlson and Zane Gonzalez losing their jobs. “He’s been consistent ever since he’s been here, but he never gets any love from the fans,” special teams coach Clark Harris said. “I don’t know why that is. I don’t know if it’s because some of these kickers have turned the position into more a prominent position and people know who they are and Randy’s just like me, just flying under the radar and going about his business.”
–Mathematically, the Bengals have played a full 16-game season under offensive coordinator Bill Lazor, who replaced Ken Zampese after two games a year ago. And the numbers are in for quarterback Andy Dalton. Under 16 games with Lazor, Dalton as totaled 3,434 passing yards, thrown for 31 touchdowns against only nine interceptions.
BY THE NUMBERS: 5 — As in the number of times Cincinnati topped 30 points in the previous two seasons. Last season it took until Week 5 to get to 68 points and two years ago it took until Week 4. This is the first time in team history the Bengals have scored at least 30 points in their first two games. “It feels good.” wide receiver A.J. Green said. “We always have confidence. We never lacked any confidence in this room. We have to keep pushing along and keep getting better each week. It’s just another game. We are 2-0, and on to the next week.”
QUOTE TO NOTE: “We’re trying to clone guys like Luke Kuechly.” – Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis on the Cincinnati native, whom he said was the best linebacker he ever saw coming out of college.
