Bengals lose Bernard; AJ Green could be back in weeks

If A.J.is out for the season, it will be a devastating loss for the Bengals. They had to overcome two more debilitating injuries. And running back LeSean McCoy couldn’t return after dislocating his thumb near the end of the first half.

The Bills had driven to a first-and-goal at the 5, but once again they could not punch it in as Mike Gillislee was stopped on first down, and Taylor threw a pair of incomplete passes to kill the threat.

After their game against the Buffalo Bills, that would change. “We still have a lot of good players …”

And like Green, Bernard’s injury leaves a void larger than his raw numbers indicate.

Green also will be out when the Bengals play Sunday at the Baltimore Ravens with a chance to get back into the AFC North race.

Coach Rex Ryan is scheduled to address reporters later in the day.

“I’ve only had one losing year since I’ve been here”, said cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones, who joined the team in 2010.

Another plus was the kicking of Dan Carpenter.

Minnesota cut Blair Walsh a couple of weeks ago and signed Kai Forbath, and Forbath was one of the kickers who missed a record 12 extra points on Sunday. None of the other receivers had a catch of more than 16 yards. He exited the game against the Bills the third quarter with an injury.

The Bills (5-5) had lost three straight heading into their bye week. The 134 yards passing were the lowest total by a Rams quarterback since Week 1.

It’s still hard to accurately assess Taylor because of all the injuries to his top receivers. Don’t expect him to be a fantasy contributor the rest of the season. The highly compensated tight end continues to be a big disappointment.

Rookie Tyler Boyd stepped up a little, roping in six catches for 54 yards and a touchdown after Green went down, but he’s not going to be able to consistently beat the coverage a top receiver gets.

So the Bills still have a pulse. Cincinnati lost two prominent players off of their roster. They have been able to maintain a healthy roster, and avoid serious injury. He has posted four games this season of at least 100 yards, and each of those have gone for over 120 yards.

The Bengals only have one win in their last six games. With quality pass protection eluding the O-line all year and neither Green nor Bernard creating easy throws for the quarterback, the team can not leave Dalton exposed as they have in the past. Once again, that leaves them in the position of having to win all, or almost all, of their final six games to give themselves a strong shot of reaching the post-season for the first time this century.