Last minute Bengals news and rumors ahead of their NFL Week 4 matchup vs the Jacksonville Jaguars

We've got some last-minute Bengals news and rumors ahead of their NFL week four matchup versus the Jacksonville Jaguars. We're going to be diving into all of it pre-game today. A little bit different though in how we've been doing it up to this point, but wanted to see how you guys like it. Thank you for joining us here today on Bengals Digest. It's a beautiful Sunday here in Cincinnati. We got that fall weather. We are in October officially, deep in the swing of things now, and it feels like football weather. We got 930 football this morning. We got football all day long, and I'm excited for this game for the Bengals. And it's going to be a tough one, guys. It's not going to be easy. I think that, you know, Joe Burrow and company are going to have a tough cookie to crack with the Jacksonville Jaguars. It is not going to be an easy one. I know that nobody really thinks it is, but nonetheless, we got to talk about it here. First things first, we got to talk about how it's looking on Calshi right now for the Bengals to win this one. Currently, they're sitting at 57%, which means if you put $25 for them to win this one, you will get in return $41.86. That's right, guys. If you click the link in the description, use code DigestNFL. The best thing about Calshi is you're trading directly against other users. You're not trading against a house like a traditional sports book, so you're buying yes or no contracts on real-life events just like the game today. So if you're interested in trying it out, click the link in the description as well as the pinned comment down below and use code DigestNFL for $55 added to your account instantly when you trade your first $25 with Calshi. Thank you to Calshi for sponsoring today's video. But we talk about the big news today. Came out yesterday, but the Bengals did tweet that they had elevated cornerback Braylon Lux and safety Russ Yeast from the practice squad to the active roster for this game. So these are two names that we are pretty familiar with, right? I mean, these guys were with us all offseason, didn't end up making the final roster. But the way that the, you know, secondary room shapes out right now with all the injuries that they've suffered, it definitely is a needed move. And it's guys that are familiar with the playbook, familiar with what Al Golden is doing on defense. And here's what Al Golden had to say about it. So specifically talking about Russ Yeast, he said, I love Russ. He's physical. He showed up all camp, especially versus the Bears. That was really positive for him. He's smart. He's physical at the point of attack. We'll see. I thought PJ Jules had a really good camp too. Whoever ends up playing, we are ready to go for the Jags. And I love to hear that. We've seen flashes of these guys in the preseason. You know, Russ Yeast got that interception in the preseason that was really big and just, they've shown great flashes. I'm really curious to see how they would be tested against this Jags defense. Luckily for the Bengals this week, Jacoby Myers is going to be out for this game as far as I'm aware. So the main guy they got to worry about is Parker Washington, who's likely going to be covered on the outside by Takario Davis. Maybe on the other side, opposite of him, he could end up getting covered by DJ Turner. I know DJ Turner was a little bit limited in practice this week, but I do think he's set to play. Although the final injury reports haven't technically come out yet for pregame, it is looking like he's going to play. And of course, we got Dax Hill at the nickel back spot for today. Josiah Taylor and Jalen Davis are both out. So Josh Newton's going to be backing up Dax Hill there at the nickel. So as you can see at safety, Brian Cook, PJ Jules. This isn't updated as of the signings though, because of course, you've got Braylon Lux and Russ Yeast added to that secondary. Now, talking about the safety room, the defense, everything that they need to do, I think the one thing that's going to help them out on the defensive side, maybe a little bit obvious here, but they've got to get past Rush to help out that burnt or hurt secondary so they don't get burnt. But I think that that can be in a lot of different ways. We've seen the dominance of Dexter Lawrence. Boy, Amafe has looked great. Miles Murphy has been a little bit questionable. And so I mentioned it yesterday as an honorable mention, but I want to bring it back up pregame here today because I'm really pushing for this. I want to see Cassius Howell more involved today. Whatever Al Golden's got to do to get him on the field more, to see what we've got in him, I really think it's important. And he needs to step up in the opportunities that he's given. And he needs to, I'm going to make a bold prediction and say he needs to get a sack today. I really think he does. I think that if he wants more playing time, you got to make the plays. And his snaps have been quite limited up to this point in the season. So as we head into week four, I want to see more Cassius Howell. I want to see more rotation of that defensive line, be able to pull out Miles Murphy when you need to. I definitely want to Cassius Howell more involved, as well as Shamar Stewart more involved. But altogether, really just getting these guys to make plays. I think that Cassius Howell has really got to step up and prove that he was worth the draft pick that the Bengals spent on him. And what better time to do it, we talked about it yesterday, for a quarterback who struggles a little bit when he gets pressured. When he gets pressured, Trevor Lawrence tends to throw it into some tight windows. Statistically, he does it more than most other quarterbacks in the league. So they really, really need to push the pressure on Trevor Lawrence and company today and really target that outside line to really collapse the pocket. Now, offensively, I think that first of all, Joe Burrow has played very well, had a very good week last week. Loss was not on him at all. He needs to continue that he needs to be pinpoint today. Started off last week with 14 consecutive completions. I would love to see that again today. I think it's a little bit of a tougher defense that we're playing. It's arguable, honestly. I mean, up to this point in the season, at least the Steelers defense has not quite looked as good as the Jacksonville defense. And that's not what most people expect. But if you really dig into the numbers, that is the truth of it. I mean, the Steelers, we know they have a great defense. That's what the Steelers do. But the Jags have looked very good and have very few weak points this season. So Bengals really got to target that. Like I said yesterday, target the middle of the field. I would love to see them target the middle of the field with guys like Mike Kesicki. And I think he's really got to step up with the injuries that they've suffered on the offensive side with the wide receivers, wide receiver three, two wide receiver threes being taken out. So, of course, the other receivers got to step up, Dante Myers, these other guys, but really want to see Mike Kesicki step in and make more of an impact in today's game than he made so far this season. He's played well. I'm not saying he hasn't, not saying he hasn't made any impact, but I really think he's got to step up and be that wide receiver three that they are missing in the absence of Yoshi and Colby Young. Now, I would love to see it as well from Dante Myers and a few others, but I think Kesicki knows the offense. He gets a lot of snaps. So I think it's more realistic that we see something like that. Another final one I wanted to mention is Chase Brown. We've got to see some more production, more usage of Chase Brown. He's been the sole running back to see important touches this year, and he's been decent. Bengals need him more involved in the passing game. They want to sustain their success. Really has only been running the ball, has not gotten a ton of touches in the pass game. He's typically quite the big receiving threat, but he hasn't flashed out this season. Cincinnati is at its best when Brown is firing in all cylinders, and I think a lot of that goes to the offensive line as well. Those passes out of the backfield, being able to block down field once he catches the ball, once he's past that line of scrimmage, being able to push your guy, get to that second level with the linebackers, and get big gains on these run plays. I want to see whether it's screens, bubbles, I want to see Chase Brown more involved in the passing game. Zach Fresnel brings us that quote there, but I really agree with him there in terms of getting Chase Brown more involved. But all together, I want to see your guys' final score predictions. Drop them in the comments down below. I think it's going to be a shootout. I'm actually going to side with James Rapine this week and say it's going to be a huge game offensively. 38-34. I'm going to tie down. I'm going to tail his. I'm going to say 38-34. Bengals do end up winning this one, but let me know your guys' thoughts and predictions down in the comments below. Do you think that safety room and cornerback room is going to get tested this week? Drop it all down in the comments and follow along for the game. This has been Adam Ianni with Bengals Digest.