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The Cincinnati Bengals need some help from the New York Jets if they hope to secure the AFC's final Wild Card bid. Oh, and they will need to beat an Arizona Cardinals squad on Saturday that is currently riding a four-game winning streak. For more, check out Cardinals blog Revenge Of The Birds and Bengals blog Cincy Jungle.
A promising rookie season may have come to an abrupt end for Patrick Peterson. The Arizona Cardinals cornerback has left Saturday's game against the Cincinnati Bengals with an apparent left Achilles injury. Making the injury all the worse is that fact that he happened on a play that was nullified by a penalty.
#Cardinals rookie CB Patrick Peterson leaves game with injured left Achilles. Got hurt on INT that was wiped out by penalty.
— Joe Kay (@apjoekay) December 24, 2011
Peterson had played in every game this year up to this point. Heading into this week, he had made 59 tackles and intercepted two passes. He appeared to have picked off his third pass of the season, but he pulled up lame during the return. Moments later, he realized that it wouldn't even count.
A.J. Jefferson entered the game immediately. The second-year player has made seven starts this year and played in every game.
You've seen guys like Henry Ellard do flips to celebrate touchdowns. You've even seen guys flip into the endzone. Maybe you've even seen them do it to avoid a tackle. But, man, this has to be one of the first times you've seen a guy flip over a tackler to score a touchdown AND land on his feet. Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Jerome Simpson did just that against the Arizona Cardinals.
Now, if this were the Olympics Simpson would probably get a couple points deducted for putting his hand down. But seriously, check this stuff out. Pretty amazing.
Here's the video, which is just as amazing:
Finally, the reaction to the touchdown is incredible.
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb was limited throughout this week's practices and is officially listed as "Questionable" for Saturday's game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
After missing four weeks with a foot/toe injury, Kolb had a triumphant return in the Cardinals' overtime win over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 13. Kolb suffered his injury early the following week against the San Francisco 49ers, giving way to second-year quarterback John Skelton, who would make the start if Kolb is unable to play.
"We'll see when we get there," Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt said according to The Arizona Republic on Friday. "We'll make that decision after we travel. We've got to see how he (Kolb) responds after the flight today."
In his first season with the Cardinals, Kolb has completed 57.7 percent of 253 pass attempts for 1,955 yards with nine touchdowns and eight interceptions.
For more on the Cardinals, be sure to check out Revenge Of The Birds.
Cincinnati Bengals first-round wide receiver A.J. Green is expected to play on Saturday despite his injured right shoulder.
Green, the fourth overall pick of the 2011 NFL Draft, injured his shoulder in last week's win over the St. Louis Rams. The injury had him as a limited participant in practice on Wednesday and Thursday, but Green was able to participate fully on Friday and is listed as "Probable" on the final injury report of the week.
Green leads all rookie receivers with 61 receptions, 1,006 yards and seven touchdowns. With the Bengals still alive in the AFC Playoffs hunt, Green was not going to let the sprained AC joint keep him out of the lineup.
"I had it before and it’s nothing serious. I’m definitely not going to miss these last two games for nothing," Green said earlier this week according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.
For more on the Bengals, visit Cincy Jungle.
The Cincinnati Bengals are 8-6, and find themselves in what the experts call a "must-win" situation. They are currently the first team out of the AFC Wild Card, with the New York Jets holding an advantage because of a better record against common opponents, despite having a similar 8-6 season. Unfortunately for the Bengals, they face a streaking Arizona Cardinals club this Saturday, winners of their last four straight.
The Cardinals are technically still in the NFC Wild Card race as well, though at 7-7 they will need the 9-5 Detroit Lions and/or Atlanta Falcons to lose their next two, at the very least. Still, Cards fans have to be very happy with the way their team has performed of late, especially while John Skelton has been under center. The second-year QB out of Fordham has hardly been pretty at times, but over his last two games he has completed better than 63 percent of his passes for 595 yards and four touchdowns to three interceptions.
After a 6-2 starts, the Bengals have dropped four of their last six games. Though the team has struggled on both sides of the ball, the decline in quarterback Andy Dalton's production has been one of the more notable developments. He has not topped more than 200 yards passing in any of his last three games, completing less than 54 percent of his passes over that span.
Game Date/Time: Saturday, December 24; 1:00 p.m. ET
Location: Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, OH
TV Schedule
FOX
TV Distribution Map: The506.com
Radio Schedule
Cardinals: KTAR 620AM
Bengals: 700 WLW, ESPN 1530, 102.7 FM
For more on the Cardinals head over to Revenge Of The Birds. For more on the Bengals, check out Cincy Jungle. Follow the rest of Week 16 at SB Nation NFL.
The Cincinnati Bengals seek to hold their claim on the AFC's final playoff spot this Saturday against the visiting Arizona Cardinals, who try to win five in a row for the first time in over 34 years.
Once challengers for the AFC North title, the upstart Bengals eliminated themselves from a chance at first place in the division thanks to a 1-4 span that included consecutive setbacks to Pittsburgh and Houston at the start of December. Cincinnati, though, got its playoff hopes back on track with a 20-13 win over hosting St. Louis last weekend, moving into a tie with the Jets for the conference's second playoff spot.
Four of the five CBSSports.com experts think the Bengals will come out victorious. All ten of the ESPN.com experts think Cincy will win the game as well.
Peter King thinks the Cardinals will eek out the victory.
NFL Quiz: What tackle has the most sacks of any defender in the NFL over the last five seasons, including playoff games? Darnell Dockett, with 31.5. Amazing, really, that Dockett (and his mates this season) haven't been more celebrated as they've made this long-shot playoff run.
To discuss things with Cardinals fans, head to Revenge of the Birds. To talk about the game with Bengals fans, go to Cincy Jungle.
The Cincinnati Bengals and the Arizona Cardinals are both fighting hard for a final playoff spot. Cincinnati is neck-and-neck with the New York Jets to try and gain the sixth seed in the AFC wild-card race; any slip up by the Jets means the Bengals could lose it all. Arizona trails both the Atlanta Falcons and the Detroit Lions by two games, so their margin for error is much narrower.
Cincinnati will be playing at home this week against Arizona, so it's not a huge surprise they're the ones Vegas believes will be the victors. Oddsshark lists the Bengals as 4 to 4.5 point favorites. Many factors could be coming into play; the Cardinals will be out in the elements instead of playing in the relative comfort of a dome, plus the fact that Cincinnati has a much greater shot at making it to the playoffs. The Cardinals are still in a toss-up game though, because neither offense is probably overpowering enough to take control of this contest. Arizona
To discuss things with Cardinals fans, head to Revenge of the Birds. To talk about the game with Bengals fans, go to Cincy Jungle.
NFL Scores Week 16: Cardinals Vs. Bengals, Arizona's Playoff Hopes Die With Loss
The Arizona Cardinals (7-8) had their hopes of making the post-season dashed after coming up just short in their attempt to come back from a 23-0 deficit in the fourth quarter. Despite moving deep into Cincinnati Bengals (9-6) territory twice in the fourth quarter with a chance to tie, the Cardinals lost 23-16 on Saturday. The loss officially eliminated them from playoff contention.
Andy Dalton did not necessarily have a great game for the Bengals, throwing for only 154 yards, but he did throw two touchdowns without an interception in leading his team to victory. Dalton's touchdown passes went to Jermaine Gresham and Jerome Simpson. The connection to Simpson was especially noteworthy as he landed a full flip while leaping over a tackler to score.
The Cardinals got a huge game from Larry Fitzgerald, who made six catches for 105 yards and scored a touchdown. The Cardinals were mostly undone by a rough start from John Skelton, who tossed three interceptions before rebounding to toss a pair of touchdowns.
For a complete box score, check out SB Nation's stats page. For more of a local angle, check out Cardinals blog Revenge of the Birds and Bengals blog Cincy Jungle.
Dec 24 4:28p by Jeremiah Oshan - 0 comments