–Among the few things the Bengals can feel good about is the emergence of Joe Mixon in their backfield.
He continues to get emphasized in Cincinnati’s game plan and last week finished with 68 yards on 17 carries. He is up to 1,063 rushing yards, the most since BenJarvus Green-Ellis in 2012 and would have more if not for missing two games with a knee injury.
Just as noteworthy was Mixon getting those yards when the Browns constantly stacked the box.
“That just shows you what kind of a threat I am,” Mixon said. “You can take that from it.”
Mixon leads Denver rookie Phillip Lindsay by 26 yards in the AFC rushing race and Lindsay is out with a wrist injury. If he wins the AFC title, it would be the first time in team history since Paul Robinson led the American Football League in 1968.
–Linebacker Vontaze Burfict suffered a concussion during last week’s loss at Cleveland and wound up getting criticized by some observers for attempting to get away from trainers.
It also appeared to be a sore subject for head coach Marvin Lewis, whose postgame press conference lasted one minute, 50 seconds and concluded with him saying: “You’re not a doctor and I’m not a doctor either.”
Burfict was hurt late in the first half when Cleveland tight end Darren Fells blocked Cincinnati defensive end Sam Hubbard while Burfict was attempting to tackle running back Duke Johnson Jr. Burfict fell onto the back of teammate Christian Ringo’s leg and could not get up.
It was his seventh career concussion and second this season for Burfict, who last played a full season since 2013.
On Tuesday, former Cincinnati wideout Andrew Hawkins addressed the criticism on Twitter by writing:
“Educational Thread: I get everything that surrounds Burfict & his antics. BUT when you have a concussion, you ARE NO LONGER CLEAR thinking. Literally reacting on instincts & possibly with no logically reasoning. For me, I would not even remember up to 10 hours AFTER I had them.”
BY THE NUMBERS: 6,275 — This represents the number of yards Cincinnati’s defense has allowed. It is 75 yards from the all-time record set in 1995. Cincinnati also must limit Pittsburgh to 20 points to avoid matching the record for points allowed (460) during the 1999 season.
