The Bengals returned from their bye week with their overriding

questions answered: How far would they fall? All the way to the bottom Womens Blessuan Austin Jersey , it turns out.The Dolphins' win over the Jets on Sunday left Cincinnati (0-8) the only winless team in the NFL. The Bengals are two losses away from matching the longest losing streak in franchise history. They've switched to rookie quarterback Ryan Finley as they officially begin looking ahead to next year."It's a fresh season, eight games," Finley said Monday.The next two months will be allocated to figuring out what they need to do to give coach Zac Taylor a fighting chance in his second season as head coach. For now, there's not much that can be done about a porous offensive line and a defense that's worst in the league at stopping the run.One intriguing development ahead: A.J. Green returning from ankle surgery. Green has missed the first eight games after hurting his left ankle in training camp. He practiced on a limited basis last week and could return for a game Sunday against the Ravens (6-2) at Paul Brown Stadium.Green put contract discussions on hold while he recuperated. The Bengals' best player can become an unrestricted free agent after the season and would like to stay in Cincinnati if the team is willing to offer a suitable deal. He said last week he'll be upset if it chooses instead to keep him for one more season on a franchise tag.In the short term, there's the question of how long it will be until Taylor gets to celebrate that first win. After hosting the AFC North-leading Ravens, the Bengals play at Oakland, host the Steelers, and then get the Jets at Paul Brown Stadium on Dec. 1.That team record of 10 straight losses in one season is in play.WHAT'S WORKINGWell, they're now in line for the first overall pick in the draft. The last time they chose No. 1 was 2003 — Marvin Lewis' first season as head coach — when they took Carson Palmer. Palmer led the Bengals through 2010 before saying he'd retire rather than continuing to play for Cincinnati, which he felt lacked a commitment to winning. He was dealt to the Raiders.WHAT NEEDS HELPThe run defense. Lamar Jackson ran for 152 yards during the Ravens' 23-17 win over the Bengals in Baltimore on Oct. 13. The Bengals had several players focused on the dual-threat quarterback during that game but still gave up big plays.STOCK UPFinley. For now. Wait and see how he fares against the Ravens' blitzing defense before making any assessments.STOCK DOWNDalton. He's got one year left on his deal. The Bengals declined to try to trade him before the deadline last week, leaving him stuck for half a season as Finley's backup. It's not how the second-round pick in 2011 imagined his career playing out in Cincinnati.INJUREDGreen's return would give Finley a better chance. The offense also is missing receiver John Ross, the Bengals' fastest player, allowing defenses to focus on stopping the run without having to worry too much about a deep threat. Green would at least make defenses pay attention.KEY NUMBER17 —The number of Bengals starting quarterbacks since their previous playoff victory in the 1990 season. Finley will become the 18th quarterback to start at least one game for Cincinnati during that span Authentic Blessuan Austin Jersey , joining Boomer Esiason, Donald Hollas, Erik Wilhelm, David Klingler, Jay Schroeder, Jeff Blake, Neil O'Donnell, Paul Justin, Akili Smith, Scott Mitchell, Jon Kitna, Gus Frerotte, Palmer Blessuan Austin Jersey Boys , Ryan Fitzpatrick, Dalton, AJ McCarron and Jeff Driskel.NEXT STEPSFigure a way to give Finley a chance. Opposing defenses were able to take away Cincinnati's running game and pressure Dalton, who was among the league leaders in getting sacked. That's a daunting scenario for the rookie quarterback's debut.Jets in the most dire need of a big game at Washington The Jets are set to take on the Washington Redskins in Landover tonight for their second outing of the preseason. Which Jets are in the most need of a huge performance to stay in the race for the 53-man roster?JORDAN LEGGETTThe tight end competition has been surprisingly fierce throughout the offseason. Rookie Chris Herndon has stood out, in addition to veterans Clive Walford and Neal Sterling. Herndon missed last week’s game, while Walford and Sterling flashed with a combined 6 catches for 65 yards.The odd man out has been the Jets’ fifth round pick in the 2017 draft, Jordan Leggett. Leggett has cycled on and off the practice field with a myriad of injuries, and missed the opener as well. Fortunately, it seems he is finally primed to take the field against the Redskins. With Herndon missing the game and needing to stand out against the performances put forth by Walford and Sterling last week, this is a very important game for Leggett. He really needs to start showing something tangible on a competitive field or his Jets career could end up being a short one. Reports were that he stood out against the Redskins in practice this week. That’s nice, but can he translate it to the real thing?TRENTON CANNONCannon hurt his roster prospects with his 2 muffed punts last week (both recovered by the Jets). That performance in the returning phase all but eliminated his chances of making the roster in that role. With the Jets already having 2 apparent locks at running back in Bilal Powell and Isaiah Crowell, in addition to the eventually-returning Elijah McGuire, Cannon is not exactly a lock for a roster spot once upon McGuire’s return just yet.On the positive side Infant Blessuan Austin Jersey , he did show some very promising change-of-direction ability and quickness against Atlanta. Cannon needs a standout game to show the Jets that he is worth keeping around as a 4th running back (once McGuire returns). Or, perhaps the Jets will throw some more punt returning opportunities his way. If they do, he’ll need some huge returns to make up for his struggles last week and make himself a viable option at the punt returner spot. Cannon will probably also see kick returning duties again and has a chance to seal a roster spot if he can make something happen there.I think Cannon ultimately does stick on the roster, as there is little competition behind him, but a reassuring performance would do a lot for his prospects of sticking around in a stacked position group - and he does still have an opportunity to turn some heads on his return game ability.ARDARIUS STEWART AND CHAD HANSENThese two just need to start showing up. Period. Both have seen hot-and-cold stretches of camp buzz throughout the offseason, but on Friday, each laid an egg. Hansen did not earn a single target, but it was Stewart who stood out in the wrong way. He had a poorly run route that nearly resulted in a Sam Darnold interception, a drop on a well-thrown Darnold pass, and another poorly run underneath route that nearly impeded a Neal Sterling first down. He was terrible.Hansen essentially redshirted the first half or so of last season before seeing his role expand down the stretch. He rarely saw the ball come his way but stood out with a nice collection of clutch catches. Hansen didn’t produce enough to learn much from but at least showed you an inkling of potential.Stewart started the year out with 38 snaps in Buffalo but never reached that number again, as he was phased out until late in the year. The Jets tried to get him some manufactured touches (handoffs, screens, kick returns) but he did very little with them. His 9 kick returns averaged 19.2 yards Blessuan Austin Jersey Draft , 41st of 43 players with at least as many returns. Only 15.4% (2 of 13) of his targets resulted in first downs - that rate ranked 158th of 161 wide receivers with at least as many targets.All in all, the Jets need to start seeing something from their sophomore mid-round wideouts. The top four of this wide receiver depth chart is all but cemented until one of these two can starting doing something.FRANKIE LUVUAnyone who follows the Jets knows how lacking they are in edge rushing talent. One of the names that has generated the most surprise throughout the offseason is Frankie Luvu, the undrafted rookie out of Washington State.Lorenzo Mauldin will be sidelined once again, and his roster chances are fading quickly. Though he impressed against the Falcons last week, Dylan Donahue is poised to miss some portion of the season from the start due to his multiple arrests.If the hype on Luvu is for real, now is the time to strike. The door to a roster spot is wide open for anybody in this group that can show something. With the lack of any proven talent among the room (David Bass is the team’s most proven edge rusher), Luvu’s rawness and potential (he’s only 21, soon to be 22 in September) should already give him an edge over his less promising competitors if he produces comparatively. All of the other outside linebacker competitors are at least 25. If Luvu can start separating himself from the middle of the pack on the game field, the Jets will have a hard time parting with an untapped rookie at their thinnest position.