PLAYER NOTES
–RB Giovani Bernard seems likely to miss his third straight game with a knee injury. Bernard was initially injured in Week 4 and as of Wednesday, his activity in practice consisted of spending time on the rehab field.
–S Shawn Williams may miss this week’s visit to Kansas City due to a concussion. Williams spent time on the rehab field as Cincinnati practiced and a final decision on him might not come until closer to kickoff.
–C Billy Price is making progress with his sprained foot but not quite enough to be declared ready to play this week and he will miss his fifth straight game. He is not in the walking boot anymore and it appears the Bengals are targeting his return date for Nov. 11 against the New Orleans Saints. “I have my own personal goal, but my personal goal and what the medical staff says are two different things,” Price said. “I’m going to follow what they say and just take it one day at a time.”
–CB Darqueze Dennard is likely out for this week due to a bad shoulder. Dennard’s exact injury is to the sternoclavicular joint, which connects the sternum to the clavicle. Dennard was injured early in Sunday’s loss to Pittsburgh and has been wearing a sling ever since.
–WR John Ross was listed on the injury report due to a groin injury but he got a full workload in on Wednesday by running third in drills behind A.J. Green and Tyler Boyd, which bodes well for this week. Ross missed the last two weeks and has seven catches for 79 yards and two touchdowns this season.
–QB Andy Dalton was on the injury report Wednesday with a back issue but it seems minor and seems unlikely he will be out. At practice, he participated fully in Cincinnati’s first practice after losing to Pittsburgh.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: CB Dre Kirkpatrick will get more of the spotlight with the various injuries to Cincinnati’s secondary. According to Pro Football Focus, Kirkpatrick is among 34 cornerbacks to be targeted at least 30 times. He leads the league in lowest completion percentage (40 percent, 16 of 40). He is the eighth-most targeted cornerback in the league, but Kirkpatrick has made the most of being thrown at so often.
GAME PLAN: When the Bengals watched film on the Chiefs, they saw the Patriots shred Kansas City’s defense for 500 yards with a decent distribution of pass to run plays (35 passes, 38 runs). Cincinnati will look to do the same, though that strategy did not come to fruition last week against Pittsburgh.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH
–Bengals CB William Jackson vs. Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill. Williams is among the best cover corners and Hill is among the league’s most effective wide receivers so this figures to be an intriguing storyline. Jackson may enter the game not feeling 100 percent due to lingering knee problems that forced him to miss nine of the 73 snaps last week against Pittsburgh. Last week Ben Roethlisberger threw at Jackson twice and it will be interesting to see how often Jackson is targeted, especially on the snaps he matches up with Hill.
–Bengals DL vs. Chiefs OL. The Bengals did not get any sacks last week, leaving DT Geno Atkins stuck at six, one off the league lead. Cincinnati’s defense is ranked 29th heading into Week 7 and its 13 sacks are tied for 20th with Tennessee. This week, they are facing an offensive line that leads the league with six sacks allowed although the Chiefs rank 11th by allowing QB Patrick Mahomes to be hit 38 times.