News & Info/Headlines

Following up on an item in this week's Team Notes. ... Let the speculation begin now that the Bengals have placed safety Taylor Mays on season-ending injured reserve with the shoulder he hurt on the final play of the first half in Sunday's 49-9 victory over the Jets.

As Bengals.com staffer Geoff Hobson notes, that opens a roster spot and a possibility is slot receiver Andrew Hawkins, eligible to come off injured reserve-recall for tonight's game in Miami. With No. 1 slot receiver Mohamed Sanu (shoulder) listed as questionable, Hawkins can potentially join forces with Dane Sanzenbacher inside.

Hawkins, an excellent gunner on punt coverage, would also give the special teams a lift with the loss of Mays, a special-teamer that had two tackles and a fumble recovery in the kicking game. ...

Meanwhile, after averaging 163.5 rushing yards during the first two games of the win streak, the Bengals are averaging just 63 over the past two games.

Considering the way teams have loaded things up to stop the run, they haven't needed to rely on it as Andy Dalton and the passing game have been lights out. This might be the game, though, to get it back as Miami's run defense is ranked 19th and giving up 109.9 yards per game on the ground.

This is the second straight season the Bengals have not had a 100-yard rusher through the first eight games.