Taylor believes the Bengals still control their own destiny.
“Everybody in the AFC is on our schedule at this point,” Taylor said. “We just have to focus on San Francisco. I think that’s the message you give to our guys. If we control what we can control, starting with San Fran, then taking it one game at a time after that, everything you want is in front of you. So, you don’t need to worry about what everybody else is doing. I think that’s the simplest message that is true, especially at this earliest part of the season.”
Taylor said there weren’t any major revelations that came during the bye week, just different areas the team can tweak and continue to do better. The offense especially has been an area of concern after a slow start, but the belief remains that things will improve as quarterback Joe Burrow had a chance to get closer to 100 percent with the extra week of rest.
That time off was much needed for a few other players to also recover from injuriese.
“I think the bye week came at a good time for guys like Chido (Awuzie) and Tee (Higgins) and Orlando (Brown) even,” Taylor said. “We’ll just take it day to day with these guys and see how much they can handle.”
Awuzie, who has been nursing a back injury, and Higgins, who was limited in Week 6 by a fractured rib, both practiced Monday. Brown did not participate in the first 30 minutes open to media but said he was just using it as an extra day to let his groin heal.
Brown expects to play Sunday but wasn’t sure if he is set to practice Wednesday or not. The team has its normal day off Tuesday.
“Just something I’ve been dealing with,” Brown said of the injury. “Obviously aggravated it (in Week 4) when we played Tennessee, the first half against them, and then re-aggravated it in the first quarter of the Seahawks (game Oct. 15). I was able to finish as well as I could, but after that last play I came out, it just was really bothering me. But I feel great now with a week of rest. I feel ready to go. So, we’ll see what their plan is for the end of the week and how everything goes with practice.”
Asked if playing a top team in the league this week impacts his timeline and desire to get back quicker, Brown said he would have been tracking toward a return after the bye regardless. San Francisco was 5-1 going into Monday’s game against Minnesota.
“I just I want to be there for my teammates,” Brown said. “That’s most important to me, it’s just a group of guys are counting on me to ultimately be available, so that’s what is on the front of my mind.”
Backup left guard Cody Ford surprisingly entered for Brown when he came off injured against Seattle and likely would be Brown’s replacement if he can’t go Sunday. Ford hadn’t played left tackle since high school, and D’Ante Smith and Jackson Carman had been listed as the backup tackles on the depth chart.
Taylor said Ford did a “good job going in there and being thrown into the fire,” but it wasn’t completely unexpected for him to step in there.
“There were situations (this summer) we put him in,” Taylor said. “He had played a lot of guard, but also at tackle he had gotten reps and we felt comfortable as the preseason had unfolded. They mix those reps around in practice - Frank (Pollack) does a good job of that to where it felt like he would be the first guy in at tackle there.”
The Bengals would benefit from having their best tackle available Sunday, though, with San Fransisco featuring the highest paid defender in the league. Right defensive end Nick Bosa was given a five-year, $170 million extension right before Burrow’s deal was done in September, and as a player that can disrupt offenses, he was paid for good reason.
“I like having our best players play, so that’s always helpful,” Taylor said.
SUNDAY’S GAME
Bengals at 49ers, 4:25 p.m., CBS, 700, 1530, 102.7, 104.7
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