The Bengals are a little banged up as they head into the most important game of their season so far, their Week 10 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Perhaps the biggest hit to the Bengals is the fact that their pass rushing specialist defensive end Carlos Dunlap, who is ranked by Pro Football Focus as the the best 4-3 defensive end in the NFL, is out with an injured hamstring. Dunlap's presence rushing the passer from the edge will be sorely missed but hopefully the Bengals deep and talented defensive line can make up for his absence.
Joining Dunlap on the inactive list is cornerback Adam Jones, safety Robert Sands, guard Clint Boling, linebacker Dontay Moch, tight end Donald Lee and wide receiver Ryan Whalen. Both tight end Jermaine Gresham and middle linebacker Rey Maualuga are active for the Steelers game.
For the Steelers, seven players will be out against the Bengals. Those seven players are nose tackle Chris Hoke, linebacker LaMarr Woodley, wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, wide receiver Arnaz Battle, quarterback Dennis Dixon, defensive end Al Woods and offensive tackle Jamon Meredith. Safety Troy Polamalu, who missed two practices this week, is active as are linebackers James Harrison and James Farrior.
