Patriots - Bengals injury report for NFL week 1: Sidy Sow, Antonio Gibson and Ja’Marr Chase

Though both teams find themselves under immense pressure as they enter the season, the reasons why are significantly different. The Patriots had a disastrous campaign last year such that it ultimately led to the departure of the legendary Bill Belichick. The Bengals on the other hand, found themselves floundering albeit in the wake of an injury and subsequent operation sustained by starting quarterback Joe Burrow. Needless to say, both teams will be eager to get off to a good start. Sadly, injuries are going to complicate that

The Patriots & Bengals have got some injury concerns

On Sunday, September 8th, the New England Patriots will travel to Paycor Stadium to take on the Cincinnati Bengals. With kickoff set for 1:00 p.m. ET, things are set to get heated in Ohio. This of course brings us to the injury report which you can see below. Of course, while the report handles the facts, it’s important to understand the context of it all so do keep reading.

Now, as you can probably guess, the news of the day is Sidy Sow’s omission. Indeed, after missing multiple practices with an ankle injury he has now officially been ruled out. What that means is that the Patriots offensive line will be under even more pressure than normal as the team seeks to cover for him, while also looking for options at left tackle. As if things weren’t already complicated, Antonio Gibson’s absence is now a real possibility after he was limited for the last two days following no injury designation on Wednesday. Should it come to pass that he can’t take the field, that could have serious implications for the offense with Rhamondre Stevenson undoubtedly being handed a much heavier workload.

This brings us to the other side of the divide where we find an interesting situation surrounding Ja’Marr Chase who, it is understood, is hoping to sign a new contract extension prior to kickoff. If the wideout does in fact play we can expect his role to be limited. The Bengals have also got fellow pass catcher Tee Higgins listed as questionable which is not a good sign at all in terms of the likelihood that e plays on Sunday.

Ultimately, this game will come down to which team can overcome the adversity first. At present the narrative would suggest that the Patriots will fail to do so as they march toward yet another terrible season. Yet, it can’t be denied that they do in fact have a good enough defense to change that.