3 questions the Bengals must answer in Week 5 vs Packers

1. How is Joe Mixon’s ankle?

Does it feel like we have seen this movie before? Joe Mixon racks up the carries and the stats early in the season, then suffers a lower leg injury and spends the rest of the season being deemed “week to week”. Frustrating to say the least.

Samaje Perine is fine as a VERY short-term fill-in, but he isn’t meant to carry the rock 20 times a game. Chris Evans is a rookie and hasn’t played a great deal yet, so turning the backfield over to him doesn’t sound like the solution.

When Mixon limped off the field late in Thursday’s game, he was seen attempting to stretch out his foot or ankle area. He never returned to the game, but was seen walking the sideline, and later dancing in the locker room on his Instagram live.

Those things, along with 10 days to rest would seem to indicate good news, however, it was reported that Mixon is week to week with a high ankle sprain.

Where does he go from here?

It’s a delicate question because you never want to think a player ISN’T playing when he could be. There was much speculation that — like AJ Green in 2019 — Joe Mixon basically shut down 2020 because it was obvious the team wasn’t going anywhere.

Hard to blame either player, to be honest, but the question that must be answered now is, can Mixon push through a low-grade sprain after 10 days rest and be effective against the Packers? With the team off to such a good start, it’s hopeful Mixon can be there and push through the pain if possible against Green Bay.