Bengals Don't Need A.J. Green to Defeat Titans, Should Rest Star WR in Week 3

Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis was optimistic on Wednesday that star wideout A.J. Green should be ready to play on Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.

Green, who injured his toe in the team's Week 1 win over the Baltimore Ravens, was limited in practice leading up to Week 2's defeat of the Atlanta Falcons and left that game early. He didn't practice on Wednesday, but Lewis said to Richard Skinner of The Cincinnati Enquirer, "[W]e're going to have 46 healthy and ready bodies ready to go. I would say A.J. [Green] would be one of those 46 bodies."

But with the Bengals' bye week coming up following the Titans contest, it would be wise for the team to rest Green on Sunday. As Green said himself about the Falcons game, "I couldn't get my full extension on my foot and I need that to run my routes. I didn't want to go out there and hurt myself even more." 

Green has been very limited or not participating in practice this week. He was limited on Thursday, though he did catch a pass and, according to ESPN's Coley Harvey, "looked good," while Lewis said of Green, "He did fine."

Though Green and Lewis both may believe Green will be healthy enough to play this Sunday, it would be wise to shelve this key member of the offense through the bye week. Especially because the Bengals have proven they can win without him if need be.

In Week 1, Green's six catches on nine targets for 131 yards and a score led the team. However, the Bengals' victory that week was a team effort: Green's touchdown, Vontaze Burfict's fumble recovery, Emmanuel Lamur's interception, Andy Dalton's lack of turnovers, the offensive line not allowing a sack. 

In Week 2, without Green, it was even more of a team effort and the results—a 24-10 blowout—were even more impressive. It was a shining example of how complex and how effective Hue Jackson's offense can be this season. 

The Bengals committed to the run, with Giovani Bernard rushing 27 times for 90 yards and a touchdown and Jeremy Hill adding 74 yards and a score on his 15 rushes. Bernard also caught five passes for another 79 yards. Receiver Mohamed Sanu had 84 yards and a touchdown and also threw a 50-yard pass to Brandon Tate.

All of this was impressively accomplished without Green, fellow receiver Marvin Jones and tight end Tyler Eifert, the latter two saddled with a foot and elbow injury, respectively. The absence of all three is something the Bengals can shoulder, at least in the short-term. However, they shouldn't do anything to jeopardize Green's long-term health by playing him before he is ready. 

Not having Green against the Titans won't do much to hinder the Bengals' ability to go to 3-0 at home. Currently, the Titans are giving up an average of 306.5 yards per game, 143.5 yards against the run. 

It shouldn't be difficult for the Bengals to establish the run on Sunday behind the versatile pair of Bernard and Hill. And, under Jackson, the Bengals won't shy away from protecting a lead by serving up a heavy dose of the run game. 

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Further, the Bengals defense continues to perform at a high level. Through two games, it has totaled five sacks, 19 passes defensed, four interceptions, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Tennessee's offense is not going to overpower the Bengals on defense.

Titans quarterback Jake Locker has already been sacked six times and has thrown two interceptions to three touchdowns. Though the running game is averaging 4.8 yards per carry, the Titans have rushed only 51 times for 244 yards—nearly a third of the rushing yardage tallied by Cincinnati's ground attack.

No win in the NFL is easy and no team presents a guaranteed victory. However, the Titans don't match up to Cincinnati's prowess on either offense or defense. This is a game the Bengals can win without Green.

The Bengals' schedule after the Week 4 bye, however, presents a number of matchups in which Green's services are going to be needed—their Week 5 nationally televised road game against the formidable New England Patriots, their Week 6 home contest against the Carolina Panthers' high-powered defense and a road game against the dangerous Indianapolis Colts in Week 7. 

It's more important that Green gets 100 percent healthy for those games than for him to test his toe in Week 3 and risk further injury. This week, the Bengals can win without Green; in just a few weeks, that may not be the case.

To ensure a competitive offense after the bye week, Green will prove more valuable to the Bengals by remaining on the bench on Sunday.