The Cincinnati Bengals fumbled their chance to take charge in the AFC North with a disappointing loss to the Jets of all teams. That means it's really important that they flip the script in Week 9 and get a win against the Bears.
Unfortunately, Cincinnati got some less than ideal injury news ahead of the matchup against Chicago. Zac Taylor gave fans an update on Trey Hendrickson and Logan Wilson and announced that both players will be listed as doubtful. Jay Morrison reported earlier in the day that Hendrickson, who is dealing with a hip injury, was in street clothes watching the defensive line drills while Wilson was nowhere to be found.
Zac on Trey: We’ll see where he ends up. Same with Logan. They’ll be listed as doubtful,
— Jay Morrison (@ByJayMorrison) October 31, 2025
Bengals dealt bad news on Trey Hendrickson before Week 9
The Bengals' defense has been pretty rough throughout the season and now they're going to be without their best player on that side of the ball. An already must-win game if the Bengals wanted to continue to stay afloat in the AFC North title race just got a lot more complicated.
The good news is that the Bears aren't a very good team despite their record so Cincinnati still has a shot in this one. Chicago just lost to a Lamar Jackson-less Ravens squad and have looked pretty clueless against competent teams. Can the Bengals be a competent team this week though? That's what we'll have to see on Sunday.
One thing is for sure though and that's that Bears fans are breathing a huge sigh of relief that Hendrickson likely won't be suiting up for this one. Caleb Williams is also probably pretty happy that he won't have to go up against one of the best pass rushers in the league.
As for Wilson, the fan favorite linebacker had been demoted recently and requested a trade shortly after. It was tough for Bengals fans to stomach but it made sense considering his potential and the fact that Cincinnati wasn't utilizing him to the level he's accustomed to. Why not try to get something in return for him? The injury could make it more difficult to trade him though.
Getting back to the Week 9 matchup, let's see if the Bengals defense can step up and play well without its best player. If they get a win against the Bears, they'll be 4-5 and only have two more losses than Pittsburgh currently does (plus they own the head-to-head tiebreaker). They'll still have their work cut out for them but a win on Sunday would still keep them in the running.