The Cincinnati Bengals struggle to get their head around the nonchalant ACL tear of Giovani Bernard. However, the best news was when A.J. Green did not have a major tear in his hamstring.
The Cincinnati Bengals lost a huge piece of the offense when Giovani Bernard was announced to have an ACL tear, especially late in this season. According to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com, Marvin Lewis confirmed the loss today.
Marvin: Confirms Gio ACL tear
— Geoff Hobson (@GeoffHobsonCin) November 21, 2016
However, in the terrible news came a light by way of A.J. Green’s injury.
green strained hamstring out this week
— Geoff Hobson (@GeoffHobsonCin) November 21, 2016
They consider Green’s injury a small tear according to Ian Rapoport, but only expected to miss a few weeks.
#Bengals got some good news on WR AJ Green. Source says he’s probably out a few weeks. No surgery. Calling it a strain (small tear).
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 21, 2016
This is much better than what everyone thought. In fact, Hobson last night had reported on Twitter that the Bengals feared the worst on A.J. Green.
Bengals fear Green out for year with possible hamstring tear. But MRI pending
— Geoff Hobson (@GeoffHobsonCin) November 20, 2016
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The Bengals still have a mountain to climb. They are a game and a half back from the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers. Heading into the Ravens game without their number one and number three passing options is a struggle.
The plus side is Tyler Boyd showed a lot of promise against the Buffalo Bills, and although there were a few mistakes, Eifert and Boyd could make a decent combination. We must also not forget that the Bengals have Rex Burkhead, who could replace Giovani Bernard on passing and third downs.
The opportunity for some of their backups to show their value, as well as the young guys, could provide a spark that this offense needs to get back on track. Although it is not too late, the Bengals are not in a comfortable position, if they want to compete for the division. They will need to string together some big wins if they want a shot to defend their AFC North Crown.