AFC Notes: Martin Emerson Jr., Russell Wilson, Bengals, Browns, Steelers

Bengals

• Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase was fined $19,697 for Unsportsmanlike Conduct (violent gesture), and DE Trey Hendrickson was fined $16,883 for Roughing the Passer (body weight) in Week 5.

Browns

Browns CB Martin Emerson Jr. has had some poor defensive play for the team so far this season, including some missed opportunities that have led to big yardage for opposing offenses.

“I’m not playing the ball that I want to play right now. Of course, not,” Emerson said, via Scott Petrak of BrownsZone.com. “If I give up anything, me being passionate and the competitor I am, I’m gonna be hard on myself for sure. Obviously, those are goals I want to reach, but the most important thing for me and for this team is to win. So I just want to win. When you’re not winning, none of that matters. So right now I just want to focus on bettering my game and doing what I can do to help this team win.”

Emerson was asked about giving up a big touchdown against the Commanders, noting that both he and the defense have to do a better job.

“I was gassed on the play,” Emerson told reporters. “You don’t want to stop the clock, so I didn’t go down and fake an injury. But just play all the way back and make a tackle. Just survive and play the next down. I just got to play off in that instance. I press-bailed it, thinking that I had enough gasoline to play that technique and just got to find a way to be better, run it even more. I know I will get better and I know the defense will get better, too. We’re in the fire right now. You can’t panic. Just keep working and just try to find a way to win, to get that one win, and hopefully sets a fire under the whole organization that we just go on that roll and we just handle our business and do what we have to do.”

Browns DC Jim Schwartz and HC Kevin Stefanski attempted to take the blame off of Emerson, with Schwartz making an odd comparison of the Browns to the New York Mets making the playoffs in baseball. 

“MJ is a good player. He’s played really well for us,” Stefanski said. “He bounces back. He has the right mindset. We expect him to make plays for us and he’ll do that.”

“I probably went too many snaps of man-to-man in a row there, and he was gassed, and I was slow to recognize that, and he gave up a touchdown,” Schwartz said of Emerson giving up a touchdown against Washington. “I probably put a little bit more of that on me than him. He’s a competitive guy. What we saw last year, and what we saw in training camp this year was not a mirage. I have a lot of confidence in him getting out of that and playing good ball for us down the stretch.”

“The Mets were about the worst team in the National League in the middle of June,” Schwartz continued. “Their best player (Francisco Lindor) stunk. It was all the same stuff. The owner meddled too much, and they had the highest payroll, and they had a lot of turmoil, and they just went and beat the Phillies and they changed all of that. They never lost their confidence and they were very intentional about their culture. You’re going to have tough times. It’s not all sh— and giggles. It’s not all unicorns and rainbows. And those tough times and persevering through those tough times is where you get your mettle and what defines you as a team. And when we get out of this, we will be battle-tested and I think we’ll be stronger for it.”

• Emerson Jr. and WR Elijah Moore both suffered rib injuries against the Eagles on Sunday. (Mary Kay Cabot)

Steelers

• Steelers HC Mike Tomlin said that QB Russell Wilson would likely be active in Week 6: “I thought he had a good week, he’s proven his health now it’s just a matter of knocking the rust off. He’s probably gonna be active as the number two quarterback. Like what I’ve seen out here, but again health and rust are two different things. I thought he had a good week with his health and protecting himself. Now it’s just the process of getting re-acclimated.” (Brooke Pryor)
• Wilson commented on WR George Pickens: “We love the player that he is. We love the competitor that he is and that’s the thing that you have to understand. Is George a bad teammate? Absolutely not. Is George a hell of a player? Absolutely. Is he a great competitor? Absolutely. Is he a guy that wants the ball? Absolutely. Is he a guy that can do anything on the field that most people can’t? Absolutely. So I think the best thing that we can focus on is finding different ways to get up in the ball, obviously also to him staying composed, that matters — but also understanding that it’s all team effort.” (Pryor)
• Steelers CB Beanie Bishop was fined $4,463 for Unnecessary Roughness (facemask), and Pickens was fined $10,230 for Unnecessary Roughness (facemask) in Week 5.