In the wake of Monday night’s brutal loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Cincinnati Bengals are already without three top starters for their next game. Linebacker Vontaze Burfict, running back Joe Mixon and cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick have all been ruled out with concussions heading into the team’s upcoming home game against the Chicago Bears.
Among the starters the #Bengals ruled out: LB Vontaze Burfict, RB Joe Mixon and CB Dre Kirkpatrick — all with concussions.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 8, 2017
All three players are absolutely key starters for Cincinnati. Burfict is the heart and soul of the team’s defense and, since from his recent run-in with a referee, has been playing with his hair on fire. He was knocked out of Monday’s game when JuJu Smith-Schuster launched into his head/neck region, earning a penalty and one-game suspension for his action.
Mixon had the best game of his season the week prior to being knocked out of Monday’s game, rushing for 113 yards and a touchdown against the Cleveland Browns — no small feat.
Kirkpatrick has started all 12 games for the Bengals this year out on the perimeter as the team’s No. 2 cornerback. He has 42 tackles, one interception (101 yards to the house), one forced fumble and one recovery to his name this year.
Needless to say, Cincinnati, already with seven losses, needs to see a lot of other guys step up to avoid another loss on Sunday.