NASHVILLE, Tenn. _ Old home week before Sunday’s game at Nissan Stadium as Titans head coach Brian Callahan came over to the Bengals pregame sideline to say a horde of hellos.
First, there was defensive assistant Louie Cioffi and safeties coach Jordan Kovacs. Then Callahan, the Bengals former offensive coordinator, spotted his prized pupil of the past four seasons. Quarterback Joe Burrow stopped his throwing and commiserated, presumably, on the crazy happenings of 2024. Then wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins came over for their hug, too.
Also getting in hellos was Titans secondary coach Steven Jackson, the Bengals cornerbacks coach in the 2021 Super Bowl season. And a former Titans safety who was reminding everyone he played in the first game in this stadium in 1999, the year Tennessee reached the Super Bowl.
“They were kicking our butt most of the game with Jeff Blake running around,” said Jackson of a game the Titans erased a nine-point lead in the last ten minutes. “A real tone-setter for the rest of the year.”
FORD OUT
Cody Ford tried to go in pregame warmups after coming down with an illness but couldn’t go, and that left the Bengals with their third left tackle of the season and testing their youthful backups.
Whoever it was going to be out of Devin Cochran, Andrew Steuber and Andrew Coker, it was going to be their first NFL start.
Cochran got the nod in pregame warmups. He began the season on the practice squad after missing all last year with an injury and has appeared in his first five NFL games this year that includes one scrimmage snap after spending all of his rookie year or 2022 on the practice squad.
Steuber, picked up from the Falcons practice squad two months ago, has been off and on the squad while appearing in five games with one scrimmage snap. Coker, an undrafted rookie out of TCU, signed to the practice squad in late October and would be making his NFL debut.
MORE REUNIONS
The Cally Bowl also featured two of the Bengals’ big-name players from the 2021 Super Bowl team Callahan brought to Tennessee.
Slot receiver Tyler Boyd has only 317 yards and cornerback Chidobe Awuzie is playing in just his fifth game of this season Sunday after an early-season injury. But the fond feelings and wary respect abound.
Ja’Marr Chase talked last week about how both helped him during his rookie year in that AFC championship season, particularly Awuzie’s relentless work against him in the 2021 training camp.
That was Awuzie’s first season in Cincinnati and until he tore his ACL in the Halloween night game of 2022, he was playing at a Pro Bowl level.
“If they caught a ball on him, I was pissed. He was big, physical, strong, can press, can play off, smart,” said Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo last week. “We hit the jackpot on that. He was really, really playing at a high level. Then you know, you tear your knee as a corner, it takes time to get back, and he did it on Halloween. So the following year he’s probably not right the full year until October or November. It’s hard. It’s a hard process. But great guy. I love him to death. He was really instrumental in everything we did. Smart, smart football player.”
Boyd, the fourth-leading receiver in Bengals history with 513 catches, takes part in a rarity. Sunday.
It’s not often a top-five Bengals receiver plays against them. Carl Pickens (530 catches), played one game against them (for the 2000 Titans, alas), and had two catches for 56 yards. T.J. Houshmandzadeh played them twice for the 2010 Ravens and had two catches for 17 yards. He got blanked in the Bengals home opener that year on six targets.
The Bengals would take that against Boyd Sunday, a guy they view as dangerous and who knows all the ins and outs of Anarumo’s scheme.
“Terrific hands. Great awareness. Ability to separate. Great catch radius. Willing to do anything,” Bengals head coach Zac Taylor recounted last week. “Can be very flexible in the offense. Can move around and understand it. And obviously he knows this system.
“There’s a smile on my face when I watch him out there running a triple slant, running choices and catching a triple in and all the things that he’s done for us over the years. Always going to go down as one of my favorite players. Glad to see him still out there making plays for them.”
Callahan pulled a Zac Taylor and rolled out two game captains against their old team when Boyd and Awuzie were among the contingent that met Burrow, Chase, and Higgins for the coin toss.
SLANTS AND SCREENS
Logan Woodside, up from the practice squad, was designated as the third quarterback, as much a reward as it is insurance for Burrow’s knee ding from Monday night. Burrow went limited Thursday and full Friday and word is he’ll be wearing a brace …
Wide receiver Charlie Jones (groin) was inactive for the sixth straight game. Orlando Brown Jr. (fibula) was the second starting left tackle on the inactive list …
Defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins (illness) missed his fourth straight game …
Rookie tight end Tanner McLachlan is still looking to make NFL debut …
Backup edge Joseph Ossai is coming in with three sacks in the last three games.
“Joseph is being aggressive. The motor has always been there, getting a feel for things,” said Anarumo, focusing on his work Monday in Dallas. “He beat the guard on the sack that he had. He did a nice job covering Trey (Hendrickson) on some things when Trey went under he was able to close the pocket. He’s got a good feel for being inside as well as outside.” …
First appeared on www.bengals.com