Marvin Lewis met with the media on Monday to discuss the aftermath of Sunday’s 13-13 tie with Philadelphia at Paul Brown Stadium, the first tie for the Bengals since 1969 and the first tie in the NFL since the Steelers and Atlanta ended a game 34-34 in 2002. Tops among the concerns for the Bengals this week is recovering from injuries to three key starters: offensive linemen Andrew Whitworth (right ankle) and Levi Jones (leg) and safety Chinedum Ndukwe (foot).
Ndukwe left the game against the Eagles with plantar fasciitis, a condition that is caused by inflammation of the tissue that connects the heel bone to the toes along the bottom of the foot.
“He's pretty sore today and we'll see how he goes through the week,” said Lewis. “If you end up with that and have an issue with that, what they actually do is go in and surgically do that. He did that on his own, which we have had a couple of players do through the years here, Rashad Jeanty a couple of weeks ago. So the body performs surgery on itself. So then you just deal with the soreness of it.”
Chris Crocker replaced Ndukwe against the Eagles and played well despite being with the team for less than three weeks. Crocker, a six-year vet signed as a free agent Oct. 30, had four tackles, one sack, two tackles for loss and an interception. He played under Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer last season at Atlanta so he is familiar with the defensive scheme.
“I know the gist of it,” said Crocker. “I still have some learning to do but (Zimmer) and (defensive backs Kevin Coyle) got with me and just made sure I was going over my responsibilities. They told me to just go out and play, be patient but I didn’t expect to get this many reps.”
Whitworth and Jones, the starting left side of the Bengals line, could miss Thursday’s game because of their injuries. Jones left the game in the first quarter because of his injury but was forced to return in the third quarter when Whitworth went down with a high ankle sprain. Whitworth left the post-game locker room on crutches and in a protective boot.
Lewis declined to say whether either player would play against the Steelers, who lead the AFC North with an 8-3 record, but later Monday the Bengals signed guard Nate Livings off of the practice squad, a good indication that Whitworth will not play. Scott Kooistra would start at left guard if Whitworth cannot play, with Livings providing backup.
“We'll have to deal with that as we go through the week here, and gain some replacements that way,” said Lewis. “It's a short week. We'll see.”
If Jones can’t play, expect rookie fourth-rounder Anthony Collins to see his first significant playing time. Collins played in a limited role offensively against Jacksonville on Nov. 2 in Cincinnati’s 21-19 win. There are easier teams to make a debut against if you’re an offensive lineman than Pittsburgh. The Steelers were ranked No. 1 in overall defense even before holding San Diego to 10 points in a win against the Chargers on Sunday.
Pittsburgh held the Bengals to 212 yards of offense last month in its 38-10 win at PBS, including sacking Ryan Fitzpatrick seven times. Philadelphia got to Fitzpatrick for eight sacks, bringing the Bengals total allowed this season to 38. They gave up just 17 sacks all of last season.
“Guys make debuts all the time,” said Lewis. “There's no better debut than against the best, and I think they're still leading the league in defense, or one or two, whatever they are. So, there's no better time to do it than the present. If Anthony's our guy come Thursday night, he'll be up and ready to go and excited about it. You can't pick and choose who you debut against.”
CHATMAN UPDATE – Wide receiver Antonio Chatman was expected to be released from University Hospital on Monday after spending the night there for observation. Chatman suffered what Lewis described as a “bad stinger” against the Eagles and had to be taken off the field on a stretcher but is expected to be fine.
ROSTER MOVES – To make room for Livings on the 53-man roster, the Bengals placed linebacker Abdul Hodge on season-ending injured reserve. Hodge, a third-year player, suffered an arm injury while playing on special teams against the Eagles.
The Bengals signed center Digger Bujnoch, the son of former Bengals player Glenn Bujnoch, to the practice squad on Monday. Bujnoch played at Elder High School in Cincinnati before going on to play at the University of Cincinnati. He spent this preseason as an undrafted rookie with the Giants but suffered a knee injury and was waived in early September.