Cincinnati Bengals: Trey Hendrickson Injures Knee Before Important Game Against Baltimore
The Bengals (5-4) are expected to be without leading pass rusher Trey Hendrickson (8.5 sacks) when they face the Ravens on Thursday Night Football.
Hendrickson suffered a hyperextended knee on the final play of Cincinnati's 30-27 loss to the Texans and was scheduled for an MRI on Monday, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
The Bengals hope Hendrickson's absence will be short-term, but they'll be without their most consistent pass rusher until he returns. Cincinnati failed to sack Lamar Jackson in Week 2, when he completed 24 of 33 passes for 237 yards, passed for two touchdowns, and ran for two touchdowns during a 27-24 Ravens victory.
Cincinnati has other injury concerns as well. Wide receiver Tee Higgins is dealing with a hamstring injury that kept him out of Sunday's game. Defensive end Sam Hubbard is also dealing with an ankle injury. Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that they too may miss Thursday's game in Baltimore.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Losing Inside Linebacker Kwon Alexander for Season Is Another Blow for Defense
The Steelers (6-3) have won four of their last five games, but have reportedly lost another inside linebacker for the season.
Kwon Alexander suffered a torn Achilles during Sunday's 23-19 victory over the Packers, via Adam Schefter of ESPN.
The Steelers lost starting inside linebacker Cole Holcomb to a season-ending knee injury in Week 9. After Alexander went down on Sunday, second-year linebacker Mark Robinson entered the lineup at inside linebacker next to Pittsburgh's leading tackler Elandon Roberts and the defense had another strong day.
Despite being outgained in every game this season, the Steelers keep finding ways to win.
They plan to continue being resilient without Alexander and Holcomb when they visit Cleveland in Week 11.
"Mark went out there, he did his job, he did his job well," Roberts said via Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com. "And now we're fixing to go look at film and see what both us and the defense can get better at going into this stretch."
Cleveland Browns: Running Attack Remains Potent With Backup Offensive Tackles
The Browns' injury-depleted offensive line held up very well during their 33-31 victory over the Ravens, with Geron Christian starting at left tackle and James Hudson at right tackle.
Regular starting left tackle Jedrick Wills (knee) is on the injured list and right tackle Dewand Jones (knee/shoulder) didn't play against Baltimore. However, the Browns rushed for 178 yards against Baltimore including 107 yards on 17 carries by running back Jerome Ford.
It's uncertain if Jones will play in Week 11 against the Steelers, but Ford said the Browns (6-3) have proven they are resilient enough to withstand injuries. They lost two of their top offensive players earlier this season when running back Nick Chubb and right tackle Jack Conklin went down for the year.
"We're going to do whatever it takes to win," Ford said via Doc Louallen of clevelandbrowns.com. "Whether we're pushing the pile, blocking, giving out water to a teammates, whatever it takes. We're going to do anything we need to win the game."
