AFC Notes: Bengals, Browns, Ravens

Bengals

Bengals HC Zac Taylor said that they made some adjustments to their practices prior to Week 3’s win over the Jets in order to build confidence going into the game. 

“You want the guys to have some confidence and talk about it a little bit more,” Taylor said, via Ben Baby of ESPN. “I have so much confidence in our group.”

Bengals WR Tee Higgins thinks their offense scoring in the first drive of the game helped create momentum for their defense. 

“I feel like by us being able to go out and score the first drive, that boosted our defense as well and gave them way more momentum than they would have started [with],” Higgins said. “It just helped out, and we played complementary football.”

Taylor doesn’t think they did “anything crazy” leading into Week 3 but felt like they needed to make some changes at practice. 

“We didn’t do anything crazy,” Taylor said. “It wasn’t just like a hype thing that we did, that we get up for one week and we’re able to do it once. I think it’s just a weakness that we realized that we had the first couple of weeks.”

• According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Bengals are hopeful DT D.J. Reader will be able to return from injured reserve in around six weeks.  

Browns

• The Ohio State Highway Patrol announced Browns DE Myles Garrett has been issued a citation for failure to control his vehicle at an unsafe speed for the type of roadway being traveled. (Jake Trotter)
• Browns DC Joe Woods said CB Denzel Ward (ribs, back) has a “good chance” to play in Week 4: “[There’s a] good chance Ward can play Sunday vs. Falcons.” (Scott Petrak)

Ravens

• Ravens HC John Harbaugh said LT Ronnie Stanley could play this week. Stanley increased his workload in practice Wednesday. (Hensley)
• Harbaugh added the team’s top priority is to get Stanley back to 100% but at some point he’s going to need to jump back into the fold: “It’s a priority to go out there and be at his best when he comes back, but at the same time, he’s going to have to jump in at some point.” (Zrebiec)
• Harbaugh noted the goal is to get OLB Jason Pierre-Paul ready to play Sunday: “We’ll see.” (Jeff Zrebiec)