Well, in less than two hours, the Cincinnati Bengals will play our Houston Texans, hoping for a different result than the last few times they've played us. Of course, not all of their players will be suiting up, and neither will all of ours.
The Bengals' WILL Vontaze Burfict and RDE Margus Hunt (he of the Hard Knocks J.J. Watt comparison) have already been ruled out due to knee and ankle injuries, respectively. Their website predicted that an inactive list could include those two, as well as CB Chris Lewis-Harris, OL T.J. Johnson, DT Devon Still, WR Greg Little, and RB Rex Burkhead. They expect to have RB Giovani Bernard (hip, shoulder), RT Andre Smith (ankle), and CB Terence Newman (knee) available, which will help Andy Dalton as he attempts to return home and not walk off the field in embarrassment.
The Texans will be missing CB Kareem Jackson who is still working back from an MCL sprain. On Friday, they also listed RB Arian Foster (groin) and LB Max Bullough (hamstring) as doubtful, but neither will play. As usual, WR DeVier Posey should be inactive due to who knows what. OLB Jadeveon Clowney was limited on Friday with his knee, as were ILB Brian Cushing, and CB Johnathan Joseph, while ILB Akeem Dent was limited with a neck injury. In place of Foster, Alfred Blue should see the lion's share of work in the Texans backfield today.
The full list of who won't be suiting up today:
Bengals Inactives:
- RB Rex Burkhead
- LB Vontaze Burfict (knee)
- OL Tanner Hawkinson
- DE Margus Hunt (ankle)
- CB Chris Lewis-Harris
- WR Greg Little
- WR Dane Sanzenbacher
Texans Inactives:
- OT Jeff Adams (coach's decision)
- DB Josh Aubrey (coach's decision)
- LB Max Bullough (hamstring)
- RB Arian Foster (groin)
- CB Kareem Jackson (knee)
- WR DeVier Posey (under OB's doghouse)
- QB Tom Savage (coach's decision)