It will be teacher against student when the Cincinnati Bengals visit the Tennessee Titans in Nashville on Sunday.
The Bengals (5-8) are fresh off a 27-20 come-from-behind road win over the Dallas Cowboys on Monday night that snapped a three-game losing streak. Cincinnati is seeking back-to-back wins for just the second time this season.
The Titans (3-10) lost at home to the Jacksonville Jaguars, 10-6, last Sunday and have predictably struggled under first-year head coach Brian Callahan.
Callahan knows what he’s going against this week, as he left his position on the staff of Bengals head coach Zac Taylor and took the job leading a Tennessee rebuild. Callahan was the offensive coordinator for Joe Burrow’s first four seasons in the NFL and Ja’Marr Chase’s first three.
The Burrow-Chase combination is taking the NFL by storm this season. Burrow leads the NFL in touchdown passes (33) while Chase leads in all three major receiving categories: receptions (93), yards (1,319) and touchdowns (15). Chase caught 14 balls on 18 targets on Monday night for 177 yards and two touchdowns in the win.
Callahan doesn’t have a duo that potent.
Quarterback Will Levis, who missed three games with injury, has completed 63.6 percent of his passes for 1,827 yards and 12 touchdowns with nine interceptions. Calvin Ridley leads the Titans in receiving yards (738) on 50 catches with three TDs.
The Bengals’ duo of Burrow and Chase has Callahan’s full respect.
“Crazy as it sounds, they keep getting better, the both of them,” Callahan said. “And I think Joe’s playing the position as good as anybody in the NFL right now. If I had a vote, he’d be my MVP vote. I can’t see anybody playing quarterback better than he’s playing right now. And then Ja’Marr, he just continues to do things that everyone thought he could do, and then he does something more, and their performance has been incredible.”
Burrow is dealing with an off-the-field distraction and an injury. Authorities are investigating a break-in at his suburban Cincinnati home that reportedly occurred Monday night while he was playing in Dallas. Moments after he limped into the locker room with an injured left knee, he found out his home had been burglarized.
“I feel like my privacy has been violated in more ways than one, and way more is already out there than I would want out there and that I care to share. So that’s all I got to say about that,” Burrow said Wednesday. “It’s part of it. We live a public life, and one of my least favorite parts of that is the lack of privacy, and that has been difficult for me to deal with my entire career, still learning, but I understand it’s the life that we choose doesn’t make it any easier to deal with.”
For the Bengals, linebacker Joe Bachie has an adductor injury and will miss multiple weeks, Taylor said Wednesday.
On Wednesday’s injury report, the Bengals also listed offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr. (fibula) as a non-participant, along with wide receiver Charlie Jones (groin). WR Tee Higgins (rest), tackle Amarius Mims (ankle) and Burrow (ankle) were limited participants.
In Tennessee, former Bengals receiver Tyler Boyd (foot) did not practice Wednesday. Neither did kicker Nick Folk (groin), linebacker Kenneth Murray (hamstring), running back Tony Pollard (ankle) and defensive tackle Jeffrey Simmons (rest).
