Marvin Jones (82) is about to return to the Bengals' receiving corps. (Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports)
As creative and explosive as the Cincinnati Bengals offense has been in getting off to a 3-0 start under new coordinator Hue Jackson, it’s about to be infused with another jolt of electricity.
Injured wide receiver Marvin Jones is expected to return to practice this week and should be ready to make his season debut after the bye week in the nationally televised game at New England on Oct. 5.
“I’m about five weeks post-op, so the progression is there and we’re happy with where my status is right now,” said Jones, who had surgery Aug. 11 after breaking the fifth metatarsal in his left foot.
Even though Jones, a third-year player from Cal who had 51 catches for 712 yards and 10 touchdowns last year, is still listed as the starter, look for the Bengals to ease him back into action for a few games after he’s cleared.
Jones missed the first two weeks of training camp with an ankle injury he suffered in the offseason. He broke his foot in his first practice back. It’s going to take some time for him to get into football shape.
“It takes a couple of practices,” Jones said. “That first practice is always, ‘Oh, my gosh.’ It doesn’t matter how much conditioning you do on the side, nothing can replicate you actually going in there and consistently running routes. That’s always a big part of it.
“You have to get in there and practice at first and see how that goes,” he added. “But knowing me, I can get ready pretty fast. We’ll see.”
The Bengals can afford to be as patient as needed with Jones because of the play of Mohamed Sanu, who has 12 catches for 164 yards and a touchdown in addition to his two throwing plays where he has gone 2-for-2 for 68 yards and a touchdown.
Asked if he can throw the ball, too, Jones laughed.
“Yes, but I’d rather be on the receiving end of it,” he said. “I’ll let the professionals handle the throws, because Mo is a professional quarterback as well. Every time we practice, it’s not on Mo, it’s up to the guy to catch it. He puts it in the right spot. I’ve never seen him throw a bad pass, so don’t mess up Mo’s perfect passer rating.”
Jones has 11 carries for 112 yards (10.2 average) in his career, so you can bet Jackson is already drawing up some new gadget plays to get him involved in different ways.
NOTES, QUOTES
–The Bengals came within 6:09 Sunday of posting their first shutout in six years and first at home since 1980.
“We almost had it,” said safety George Iloka, who had a team-high eight tackles and a jarring hit on Titans tight end Delanie Walker that led to a Robert Geathers interception.
“Of course I’m disappointed,” Iloka added. “Perfection is what you strive for. We fell short of that.”
Many of the Bengals starters were out of the game by the time Tennessee running back Shonn Greene capped a six-play, 80-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown plunge, but the Bengals weren’t using that as an excuse.
“We had another good game overall defensively, but we’re hunting excellence,” said linebacker Vinny Rey, who got the start for injured Pro Bowler Vontaze Burfict (concussion). “We really want to be perfect in everything we do. We obviously weren’t today, but that’s what we’re going to continue to strive for.”
The last time the Bengals recorded a shutout was Dec. 21, 2008, a 14-0 blanking in Cleveland. The last time they did it at home was a 14-0 triumph of Minnesota on Oct. 19, 1980.
–Andy Dalton because the first quarterback in Bengals history to catch a touchdown pass when he leapt to grab a toss from wide receiver Mohamed Sanu, slipped a tackle attempt by Tennessee cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson and beat safety Michael Griffin to the pylon.
Wreh-Wilson looked as though he was either going to beat Dalton to the ball for a pick six or splatter the quarterback all over the turf, but he did neither despite practicing for the trick play during the week.
“Luckily he didn’t hit me squarely, and I was able to bounce off him,” Dalton said. “It didn’t happen exactly as we drew it up, but I’m glad it unfolded the way it did.”
Four other Cincinnati quarterbacks have caught passes — Sam Wyche (1968), David Klingler (1994), Akili Smith (1999) and Ryan Fitzpatrick (2008). Wyche, Klinger and Fitzpatrick all caught their own passes after they were batted back by a defensive player. Only Smith caught a pass from someone else, a 6-yarder from wide receiver Carl Pickens.
Dalton is the first NFL quarterback to score a receiving touchdown since Kansas City’s Tyler Thigpen in 2008.
“It was fun,” Dalton said. “It’s not something you get to do all the time. I always tell the receivers that I have the best hands on the team (laughs). I don’t know if I’ll be getting another one for a while.”
–The blowout of Tennessee gave head coach Marvin Lewis a chance to empty his bench, and rookie cornerback Darqueze Dennard, the team’s first-round pick, made the most of his first opportunity outside of special teams.
On the second defensive snap on his career, Dennard came off the right edge and chased down Titans quarterback Jake Locker for a sack.
“The secondary did a great job covering the receivers so he had no room to throw and the defensive line did a great job of cutting everything back,” Dennard said. “I just had to tackle him. I came clean.
“It’s definitely exciting,” he added. “It’s a great defense with great players, so just sliding in at the end for a couple of plays was pretty cool.”
REPORT CARD VS. TITANSA
PASSING OFFENSE: B-minus — Andy Dalton only threw for 169 yards and in a closer game against a better opponent, his first interception of the year — an off-target screen that gave the Titans the ball at the Bengals 22 — could have been a game-changer.
RUSHING OFFENSE: B-plus — The Bengals averaged only 3.7 yards per carry, but they got them when they needed them. Nine times they ran the ball when the line to gain (for either a first down or touchdown) was 4 yards or less, and eight times they converted.
PASS DEFENSE: A-minus — Granted they weren’t facing a Hall of Famer, or even a Pro Bowler, but the Bengals made life miserable for Jake Locker from start to finish
RUSH DEFENSE: B-plus — The tackling wasn’t great as the Bengals gave up 149 yards on the ground, but 50 of those were on scrambles by Titans quarterback Jake Locker
SPECIAL TEAMS: A — Kicker Mike Nugent bounced back from his worst day as a pro to nail his first and only attempt of the day, and punter Kevin Huber was not only long, averaging 49.0 yards on his four kicks, but precise as three of his boots pinned the Titans at the 6, 4 and 2,
COACHING: A — Maybe the worst thing you can call a play-caller is predictable, and no one in their right mind would even consider slapping that tag on offensive coordinator Hue Jackson or defensive coordinator Paul Guenther on Sunday.
