MORE Good News Keeps ROLLING In For The Cincinnati Bengals…

MORE Good News Keeps ROLLING In For The Cincinnati Bengals…

It is time to welcome in our guest. He is standing 
by and he is ready to go here on the show. And is my pleasure to welcome in Wayne Box Miller of the 
Bengals Radio Network. Box, can you hear me? I appreciate you stopping by, man. Yeah, man. How 
you doing? Long time, brother. I know it’s been a minute, but good to see you again and good to 
have you on the show. I appreciate you uh making some time. Absolutely. But I do want to start with 
Trey Hendendrickson. And we started out our show today here talking about this. Obviously, that 
was the first question in the press conference. as yesterday beat writers asking Zack and he 
very quickly was like yep he’s going to be doubtful again and obviously that probably means 
he’s not going to play against the Buffalo Bills I think a lot of people were wondering okay you 
know you keep saying he’s weak toe but it’s been several weeks since he hasn’t played obviously 
hasn’t played since the Jet game why was he not placed on IR any thoughts on that and any shot we 
see him again um this season for the Bengals it’s hard I don’t know if you remember that injury it 
was very brutal injury and I I think people seem seem to have forgotten just how catastrophic 
that injury was. I mean that and some say it was a cheap shot. Y so I I think if you really 
look at it I went back and looked at that again uh obviously the week after and I thought man 
that is hard and I heard some people mention his age has absolutely nothing to do with 
that. That’s you know if you have a brutal injury whether you tear a knee or or something 
significant like that hip and you’ve got that much weight falling on it it’s going to sideline 
you. U I don’t I don’t know if he’ll be back. I think that they’re going to take it week by 
week. A lot of people don’t like to hear that, but remember Joe Burrow came back and a lot 
of people said he should shut it down for the year. Um I think that he’s shown that him 
playing matters. I think if Trey Hendrickson can get healthy, if this team is still in 
a playoff hunt a couple of weeks from now, I think you may see a Trey Hendrickson. So 
I wouldn’t rule it out. I just think that, you know, with that type of injury, I just think 
you don’t rush back from that. And I think caution is still the order of the day. Um there’s been a 
lot of talk about what to do with him next year, right? I think the franchise tag has been 
something that’s been thrown around. Obviously, that number would be very, very high if they 
were to do it. I personally think that, you know, respect everything that Hendrickerson’s done. I 
think clearly the best free agent signing this team has ever had as an organization, but it kind 
of feels like it’s run its course a little bit in my opinion. any shot they tag him or perhaps 
give him an extension a year late or do you think that this year is probably it for Trey and the 
Bengals? Well, I typically ask players uh when I’m interviewing um when did you realize that the game 
of football becomes the business of football? And many of them have varying, you know, some learned 
right away Sheldon Rank and said, you know, first week he got there, a guy got cut sitting 
next to him and it’s like, whoa. Others, you know, a couple of years down the road. I think the 
business of football is probably the reason why you won’t see Trey Hendrickson here next year, you 
know, with the money that’s going to Chase Higgins and Burrow. Um and then they’ve got some guys they 
got to make some decisions on um on defense about um it is going to be a hard line to keep him for 
the money he is going to want and deserves to be quite cand. So I think the business of football 
may be the reason you won’t see Trey Hendrickson here next year. Absolutely. Um defensively 
obviously for the majority of the year they were struggling. Um I think that’s pretty safe to say 
as they probably were one of the worst defenses in the NFL. But past few weeks they’ve really turned 
some things around and um we’ve seen the tackling improve even the Patriot game that they of course 
lost. Alen said after the game that probably the best tackling performance of the year and then 
they followed it up on Thursday Night Football um on Thanksgiving with another good tackling 
performance and obviously they were able to create a lot of turnovers in that game there as 
well. But beyond the tackling and the turnovers, any reason or anything that stuck out to you as 
far as why this defense has been able to improve? I think pride. I I think so many of these guys 
basically got tired of reading the the headlines, which uh as I said on another show, you can’t 
deny what you see. A lot of missed first tackles. Uh they know that it’s not something that they 
weren’t aware of. But I think to a player, pride kicks in and you say enough is enough. It’s just 
like a guy in a boxing ring. I mean, you know, six or seven straight left hooks and you start 
to put your guard up. But I think that I think that some players are getting more comfortable 
with Al’s defense. I think he’s worked to try to make it uh amanable for them as much as he still 
expects things from them. And I think you got to remember and people tend to forget, you got a 
lot of new coaches. You got Jerry Montgomery, you got the linebacker coach, you got a new defensive 
coordinator. Whether we like it or not, and people just don’t want to accept it, there’s always 
a learning curve with new people in those kind of positions. I mean, you learn a defense. Lanna 
Rumo’s defense and then all of a sudden here comes another guy and he says well I I like it this 
way versus that way or you know my blitzes come this way or that way and so it’s a matter and then 
angles and everybody says oh I want you to do it this way and so for us we always say oh well all 
you have to do is just blitz when they say blitz and this and that but it as you know I mean it’s a 
little more complicated I think yes you would like for it to be this type of defense a few weeks ago 
but it’s here. DJ Turn is playing exceptionally well. I I would say he’s a Pro Bowl caliber corner 
at this point based on the work that he’s done. Joseph Osai is healthy and I think there was never 
a question about Joseph Osai’s ability, right? The question was could he stay on the field ability 
day one he came and he sacked Tom Brady right out of the gate when he got here and you saw that 
and you whoa this kid comes off the edge but he was hurt and he was hurt again. Now he’s healthy. 
Look at him. I mean, he’s the guy that we thought he would be. He’s relentless, man. And then Miles 
Murphy, uh, I really like where Miles Murphy is right now. I know he’s a late bloomer. I know 
to a lot of people he’s a bust, disappointment, whatever. To me, I’ve always said this, man. I 
will evaluate a draft three years after the draft because I think some players, yes, the first 
year they catch on, they get in, they fit in, they impact. Others, it’s a learning curve that’s 
a little higher. If anybody plays golf, you know, some people take the golf and you say, “How?” The 
rest of us are scrambling to make birdies. I mean, bogeies. Look at me thinking positive. Scrambling 
to make bogeies. And uh, you know, and then at some point it clicks in. But I think what Miles 
Murphy has shown us the last few weeks going back to Pittsburgh game, seven tackles, sack, 
tackle for loss, two quarterback hits. I mean, chasing down uh, Ravens players on the field, the 
relentlessness that he’s shown. I think that uh Dan Horde did an interview with him and and talked 
to him because he’s a very cerebral kid and he said, “Do you think maybe you’re thinking too 
much um while you’re on the field?” And he kind of admitted that that may have been a problem 
versus just turning it loose. But when you’re trying to make sure when you’re putting pressure 
on yourself, which I think Miles did put a lot of pressure on himself, that now those things are 
starting to dissipate and you look at a kid that’s out there running around. I think Jerry Montgomery 
has a lot to do with that. Uh believing in him, encouraging him, and yet getting on him. 
But Miles Murphy, man, the last few weeks, if this is any indication of the path that he’s 
on, uh Osia and Murphy are going to be very, very helpful to this defense. No doubt. Yeah. 
I mean, I’m watching him in the Baltimore game where they complete that pass to Derrick Henry and 
then he’s rushing the passer. He turns around, he sprints all the way down the field and obviously 
it’s big game for Baltimore, but he makes that tackle and you just don’t really see that um from 
edge rushers very much in this league. Um yeah, been tremendous um over the course of the past 
few weeks. Um it’s crazy what one player could do. Obviously, Joe Burrow comes back. This team 
all of a sudden has some juice and um they looked like a really good football team on Thursday night 
against the Baltimore Ravens. I’m looking at this division and there’s obviously lots of issues 
going on in Pittsburgh and Baltimore. Yeah. But right now, based on the how the defense has 
played the past few weeks and Joe Burrow coming back, I don’t think I’m being biased when I say 
this. Like they look like the best team in the division to me. What are kind of your thoughts on 
that here at this point? Well, they are. Yeah. Uh they are the best. You know, Lamar Jackson’s 
hurt. It’s very evident that Lamar Jackson is dealing with something more than what they’re 
reporting to the media because he just doesn’t look comfortable. We all knew Aaron Rogers, you 
know, eligible for AARP was going to hit a wall, but you see his mobility or lack thereof, man. 
He just doesn’t have the mobility that he needs to buy another second or half second. The younger 
Aaron Rogers would have bought a half second on many plays where now he’s just getting beat. Um 
the experiment in Cleveland, I’m happy for Shador Sanders getting on the field, but he’s learning. 
uh touchdown last week, no interception, so he’s not costing his team. Maybe he’s not uh leading 
them to victory, per se. So that leaves Joe Burrow, when you look at the quarterbacks in this 
division, uh what he showed all of us on Thursday night Thanksgiving was beyond phenomenal. And I 
say that because you don’t miss nine weeks walk out there on the field and make the kind of throws 
that he made in game situations and pressure situations with all kinds of blitzes and designs 
and uh T. Higgins not playing and yet you deliver that kind of a performance. His escapability 
was there, his magician like ways were there, his accuracy was there. I mean, he had a couple 
of throws early on that he admitted, hey, but we expected it. I thought he’d be a little more rusty 
than what he was. The the guy is just different, man. And I’m going to tell you something for me, 
he’s he’s creeping into that category of Montana. Yeah. And Brady, no doubt. Um, they are just they 
just find a way to get the ball to whoever is open or whoever they think can get the 50/50 ball or 
they buy another second. And and really if I’m being fair about it, it reminds me a lot of big 
Ben Rothosberger. He would frustrate defenses. You thought you had Ben. You just about to reach 
out and put your hand on Ben Rothosberger and he would just slide a half a step or forward a 
half a step and you’d miss him and he’d make a play. The these guys are different, man. Their 
clocks, their computer processors. Uh I don’t know what the latest Apple chip is right now, but he 
Joe Burl has an A. Matter of fact, it is an A9, I think. So, uh, Apple has a Joe Burrow chip in 
the new iPhone. So, yeah, I was just fascinated by how quickly he got into a rhythm. Like, 
as you mentioned, there was a couple there early with the not on the same page with Jamar. I 
don’t know if we’ve ever seen that, but then like after the first couple of series and then into the 
second half, it’s like looks like Joe Burrow. And, um, I I just was blown away that he was able 
to do that. And I totally agree with you. I think he’s kind of he deserves People kind of 
forget. It’s funny, you know, in this league, if you’re not out there, people just are like, 
“Oh, you know, Joe Burrow coming back. What’s that going to do?” But this is one of the best 
players in the league, is it not? No question about it. Uh I I have to say this phrase in 
fairness, when healthy. Yep. Um he’s top three, period. I you know, I I sit and discuss it with 
you all day. I think what he doesn’t get credit for is his feet. And Joe Burrow, if he has to take 
the ball and run with it, he’s just fast enough to get past the the linebackers and the linemen. 
And uh he’s big enough where he’s not going to be intimidated by a secondary player. So, he’s 
got the feet and the footwork inside the pocket. He’s got the arm strength. He’s got a computer 
chip in his brain. His vision is impeccable. and uh he just feels like I know what I need to do 
to make this play happen or to win this game or to put us in position for Evan McFerson uh 
to kick a game-winning v the guy man you watch him if you didn’t know he’d been gone for nine 
games you wouldn’t have known right you wouldn’t have known he it’s just incredible unbelievable 
Wayne Box Miller joining us live here on the show for a couple more minutes Bengals radio network 
um Burrow after the game. I think said several interesting things, but one significant takeaway 
that I had was obviously the coaching staff has, you know, been drugged through the mud and maybe 
rightfully so for um, you know, the majority of the year and Burough came out there and said, 
you know what, there’s not a scheme in the NFL that’s revolutionary enough to, you know, overcome 
some of the things that we’re doing. We got to put it on the players and the players got to go out 
there and play better. So, he went out of his way, I don’t know if he mentioned Zack directly, but 
basically to back this coaching staff. What were some of your thoughts and takeaways when he said 
that? Well, leaders lead. Yeah. And you know, leaders take on the tough questions. Joe Burl does 
that. I mean, you remember the off seasonason he advocated for Trey. He advocated for Chase. He 
advocated for Higgins. Um, and he advocated for Lu Anaruma, if you remember last year, and there 
were several pictures, images of him talking to Lou. You know, Joe Burl is that kind of guy. His 
dad was a coach. He understands that, you know, you can draw up the most beautiful schemes and 
the most exotic blitzes and all kind of packages, but if the guys don’t get out there and execute, 
wrap up, make the tackle or catch the ball or pick up a blitzer, if you’re on offense, I 
mean, the play that he hit, Andre Yosvage, a lot of people aren’t talking about. Samaj perin 
made that play. He was on the uh the right side of Burl, saw the blitz coming on the other side, 
went under Burl, got enough on that guy to throw him out of Joe Burrow’s way long enough for Burl 
to complete the pass for the touchdown. So again, uh he understands, man, the coaches can only do 
so much. Once that game starts, the game plans in and everybody has their assignments, players have 
to make plays. Got the Bills on Sunday. I looked this morning, I believe the spreads at about 
six. Um early thoughts on that game? Well, it it’s going to be interesting to see which Buffalo 
Bills team shows up. I mean um a month or so back they lost two games in a row and then they’ve 
gone win loss win loss. And so if they stay true to fold then they should lose this weekend. So 
but you got you got a big quarterback back there uh Josh Allen man who’s he’s just a big threat. 
He can throw the ball. He’s got a big arm. Uh he’s improved so much and not just throwing the ball 
up for grabs since the last time the Bengals seen him. I think the Bengals may have helped make him 
a better quarterback, but he’s more um disciplined with the ball, with his throws, which makes him 
formidable or more formidable. Uh he can still run the ball. Uh they’ve got a little bit of version 
of a tush push in terms of them trying to get yardage and they’ll get behind him and he’s such a 
big guy. But their running game, man, they’ve got a solid running game. And you know, the Bengals 
have been giving up around five yards a carry, but they the defense has been uh pretty good of late. 
So, they’re going to have to keep them in down in distance that makes him throw the ball, but 
he’s got a good receiving core. Uh defensively, they’re going to get after it. Uh and there’s 
still some residual effects from the last time the Bengals went up there and and knocked them out of 
the playoffs and went on to play Kansas City. Um, and when Mike Hilton said uh the infamous we’re 
going to Burrowhead and uh I think Chris uh Chris Jones got a little upset about that. He did and uh 
I I I think that this time around they’ll just go up and take care of business. But it’s going to be 
a tough game, man. I think that number nine again when you got number nine you got a chance, man. 
And Chase Brown is playing phenomenal. I mean, I think he set a franchise record six straight games 
with 100 yards from scrimmage. Uh he’s got over 970 yards total uh yards from scrimmage. This year 
he’s averaging over five yards a carry. The last three games he’s gone over 100 plus total yards 
and averaged over five yards a carry. He’s running the ball very well. Um you know, hopefully T. 
Higgins is back still in concussion protocol. Um I saw him yesterday. He looked good. uh was talking 
to the people in the cafeteria. Uh but again, that’s just baseline. You don’t know all the other 
tests that go along with that. But Yosi Vos look like he’s getting back in rhythm. And Mitchell 
Tinsley, man, getting his chance again. You tell the young players, you know, you’ve been around 
players yourself. You tell young players, man, you you never may get called at any time. You have 
to be ready. And Mitchell Tinsley has been that guy for them to become that third receiver. And 
uh if he gets a one-on-one matchup, Joe Burrow has confidence that he could win that matchup or that 
50/50 ball. So, he doesn’t lose a lot. I mean, you lose a special person in uh T. Higgins, 
the height, the high pointing of the ball, the athleticism, but you still got Chase. Yosi 
Bosch knows what he’s doing. Great catches he made in the last couple of games, the toe taps 
and things of that nature. So, if they can run the ball the way they want to, Gasiki and Fant are 
still uh targets for him as well as Tanner Hudson. The thing I like about Joe Burrow that I think 
makes him really effective, man. He finds the open guy or the right matchup, right? And so many 
people look for their favorite receiver or they look for the one and the two. Joe Burrow looks for 
the matchup. He looks for the open receiver, the opportunity, and that’s what keeps that offense 
rolling and keeps Bengals in the game. So, it it’s going to be a tough game. It’s on the road. It’s 
at Buffalo. It’s a one:00 game, thank goodness. Uh it’s not one of those night games where it’s four 
degrees or something like that. But with this guy being back energizing the offense and defense, 
Evan McFersonson is kicking the ball as well as he’s been. Uh you’ve also got Ryan Rico, we don’t 
talk about him enough. I mean, but this guy, man, the way he punts the ball, um flipping the field, 
that could be the biggest thing in this game, man. if you get a couple of stall drives and he’s 
able to pin them back inside the 20 or the 10. I know he’d like to get a few more cough and corner 
kicks as they used to call them back in the day, but he’s still booming that ball, man. No 
doubt. And final question for you, Box, kind of big picture. Um, you know, this team, um, 
they could get hot obviously, and I think there maybe is some concern that, well, they either win 
out or maybe just drop one game and they sit there and they evaluate during the offseason and say, 
“Ah, you know what? We’re fine. and we can just roll it back with a lot of the same personnel, 
same assistant coaches that we have and go try again in 2026. Does that concern you at all that 
that could happen or do you think that, you know, that’s okay if that does happen? Or do you think 
they would be better suited, you know, making some serious changes, whether it be personnel or 
assistant coaches? Well, you know, everybody’s under evaluation right now. Yep. there. If if you 
want to say that there’s a good thing about where they are right now in terms of fighting for their 
playoff lives, you find out who your players are right now. Yeah. You find out who’s still playing. 
I’ll never forget uh Azie Newsome when he drafted Ray Lewis. He said he went in the room by himself 
as Aussie from what I hear Azie does a lot. And he got the games where Miami were blowing people 
out and he got the games where Miami was losing. and he wanted to see if Ray Lewis was the same 
player regardless of the score. And he was that player. Never turned the motor off, always on 
the go, always looking with effort to make the next play. And so I think for the Bengal front 
office and the coaching staff, this is a great opportunity for them to look at guys to say who in 
their mind has already said, “Well, we’re out of the playoffs. We and we’re not going to make it.” 
So, you know, whatever. And who’s saying, “Hey, we still got a chance to make the playoffs. I’m 
trying to do everything I can to win or who just has personal pride to say it matters to me how I 
play. It’s not about the wins and the loss says it matters to me how I play the kind of football 
player I am. So, I think in in in essence, you know, this audition for a lot of guys, man, that 
they get to look at Jaylen Davis, man, how about that? He’s the perfect example. Practice squad 
guy. Was on the roster, moved to practice squad, never lost focus, man. Always kept the main thing, 
the main thing, and then he he signed for uh the rest of the year. But it’s effort. That’s a guy 
that’s an example of what I’m talking about. He’s auditioning. They’re looking at this guy saying, 
“This guy wants to play. He wants to make plays. We need that right now because we’ve got to run 
the table. Unfortunately, we did that last year. We put our fate in the hands of others, which you 
never want to do. And it’s something Dave Lapam harps on all the time, but it is what it is. And 
so, they’ve got to get uh this one- win season, which is Buffalo, and then there’s another 
one- win season after that with the Ravens, another one season with the Dolphins. These are 
all one-in seasons. You just got to look at it as a a season within a game. Absolutely. Great stuff, 
Box. Appreciate you stopping by. Uh let everybody know where where and when we can find you on the 
air. And are you still doing Bengals pep rally? Is that still going on? Yeah, I’m doing Bengals pep 
rally. We’ll be uh we’re doing them this year down the Kroger on the Rine. Got it. 100 East Court 
Street. Uh Barrett Carter is going to join us this week. Dave Lap and I will be back the following 
week uh working on that. But I still do that, you know, countdown to kickoff always comes on 90 
minutes before kickoff. So we’ll be on 11:30 and then uh the postgame show comes on immediately 
afterwards. So yeah, still doing prehalftime and post and uh appreciate all the work you did when 
you was there, man. You made made it easy for me. Well, I appreciate you, Box. That means a lot. And 
thanks so much for making some time. Great stuff as always and would love to do it again soon, 
man. Absolutely. Anytime, man. Anytime. Yes, sir. I definitely will hit you up. Appreciate you, 
Box. All right. All right. Who day, brother? Who

In a season of inconsistency, the Cincinnati Bengals find themselves improbably alive in the AFC North race. At 4-8 after a dominant 32-14 Thanksgiving rout of the Baltimore Ravens, they trail the Ravens (6-6) and Pittsburgh Steelers (6-6) by just two games. The division’s mediocrity—no team above .500—has transformed a long-shot playoff bid into a tantalizing possibility. With five games left, Cincinnati’s path is clear: win out to finish 9-8, leveraging their 3-1 divisional record and head-to-head edges.

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Joe Burrow’s return has ignited the fire. Since reclaiming the starting role, he’s 1-0, dissecting defenses with surgical precision. His Thanksgiving masterclass—two touchdowns, zero picks—exposed Baltimore’s vulnerabilities, while Ja’Marr Chase feasted for 110 yards. Defensively, Al Golden’s unit stepped up, holding Lamar Jackson to 246 yards and sacking him twice. If this all-around grit persists, the Bengals could mirror last year’s late rally, when they won five straight but fell short on wild-card tiebreakers.

The schedule favors them. After a pivotal Week 14 clash at Buffalo (8-4, but Cincinnati’s 3-1 vs. them), they host the Ravens again on December 14—a potential sweep that flips divisional standings. Then come winnable spots against Miami (5-7), Arizona (3-9), and Cleveland (3-9). A 4-1 finish isn’t fantasy; ESPN pegs their playoff odds at 7%, mostly via division title. Simulations from The Athletic give a 90% shot at the crown if they hit 9-8, thanks to tiebreakers.

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Challenges loom: EDGE Trey Hendrickson’s doubtful status vs. the Bills thins the pass rush, and the secondary must contain Josh Allen. Yet, as coach Zac Taylor notes, “One win sparks momentum.” Fans chant “Who Dey” louder; the Bengals, once buried, now hunt a crown. Burrow’s cool: “We’re built for this.” In the AFC North’s chaos, Cincinnati’s stars could steal the show—and a postseason ticket.

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