CINCINNATI — Trey Hendrickson isn’t one for self-promotion.
So, Mike Hilton stepped up Wednesday, hours before the Bengals defensive end earned his third straight Pro Bowl selection, and made the case for him as one of the best defensive players in football.
“We’re all hoping Trey goes crazy and has four or five sacks and break the sack record,” Hilton said of Hendrickson, who enters the final week with 17. “So, we all want to see each other succeed and we all are going to do what we can to help that other guy succeed.”
Hendrickson already has the official team record but could – with a monster effort – come close to the unofficial mark of 22 set by Coy Bacon in 1976. Hendrickson could make Bengals history as no Cincinnati player has ever led the NFL in sacks for an entire season.
Hendrickson will have a number to shoot for as T.J. Watt, also with 17 sacks heading into Week 18, will have played Saturday in Baltimore.
“That’d be big,” Hilton said of a potential sack championship. “He doesn’t get the respect he deserves. You mention a guy like T.J. Watt, Micah Parsons, you have to throw Trey Hendrickson in there. Turn on the tape and watch how much of an impact he has.”
Why no love for Hendrickson nationally?
“Because of where we are,” Hilton suggested. “You put Trey anywhere else outside Cincinnati, they’ll be screaming his name (for) Defensive Player of the Year. That comes with it being a small-market team. But like I said, Trey is one of the most disruptive guys in the league.”
“You put Trey anywhere outside of Cincinnati and they’ll be screaming his name Defensive Player of the Year” Mike Hilton on Trey Hendrickson and his 17 sacks pic.twitter.com/9iCzuVmSM7
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) January 3, 2024
One person that doesn’t take Hendrickson for granted is his defensive coordinator.
“He’s great. Every time it’s a sack, I feel like it’s a sack fumble,” said Lou Anarumo. “I mean, he’s an elite rusher. I’m happy we have him. 17 (sacks). That’s awesome. And again, as I always mentioned, he’s had a couple called back, so let’s hope he gets a few this weekend, too.”
Zac Taylor made a point Wednesday that he wants his players to reach their personal goals Sunday but only within the team structure.
“When all these guys are playing and doing everything they can to help us win some of that stuff takes care of itself sometimes,” Taylor said. “I’ve been in situations over 20 years where you try to force things and it just creates frustration as a team, because you go out of your way to try to do something. It can set you back a little bit so you let things happen naturally. If guys hit those you are obviously proud of those guys for the work they’ve put in over the course of the last year, over the course of their career to get where they’re at.
“Would love to assist with that anyway we ever can, but that is a lesson I learned. I remember one time in college we were trying to get a rusher a 1,000 yards in a season or X consecutive 100-yard rushing games and we kept feeding him when he needed like four yards and he kept losing yardage and setting ourselves back. It just created frustration so lesson learned on that so we’ll just let everything happen organically.”
The NFL announced this evening that WR Ja’Marr Chase and DE Trey Hendrickson have been voted to the AFC team for the 2024 Pro Bowl Games.
“This is well deserved for both Ja’Marr and Trey,” said Taylor. “The consistency that they put in on a day-to-day, year-to-year basis is why they are top performers in this league. It’s awesome that they get recognized for that. I’m very proud of their achievements and happy that they got this honor.”
This marks the third consecutive, and third career, Pro Bowl selections for both Chase and Hendrickson. They become the 20th and 21st players in Bengals history to be voted to the Pro Bowl three times.
Chase leads the Bengals this season in receptions (96), receiving yards (1197) and receiving TDs (seven). His career-high 96 catches are the most by a Cincinnati player since A.J. Green (98) in 2013. Chase has four games this season with at least 10 catches, and five games with at least 100 receiving yards. He became the eighth player in NFL history, and the second in team history following Green, to reach 1000 receiving yards in each of his first three career seasons.
Chase is the fifth player in team history to earn Pro Bowl honors in each of his first three career seasons, alongside tight end Bob Trumpy (1968-70), receiver Isaac Curtis (’73-75), receiver Cris Collinsworth (’81-83) and Green (2011-13).
Hendrickson, a seventh-year player out of Florida Atlantic University, is tied for the league lead in sacks this season with a career-high 17. He has recorded at least one full sack in each of the past seven games, which ties Seattle linebacker Boye Mafe for the longest streak in the NFL this season and is the second longest in Hendrickson’s career (nine games in 2021). He also has forced three fumbles and recorded three passes defensed.
Hendrickson’s 17 sacks are the second most in a single season in team history behind DE Coy Bacon’s 22 in 1976. He has 52.5 sacks since the start of the 2020 regular season, the third most in the NFL in that span behind Pittsburgh edge T.J. Watt (60) and Cleveland defensive end Myles Garrett (58).
Additionally, two Bengals have been voted as alternates for the AFC team. Joe Mixon is a first alternate and left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. is a third alternate. Alternates are added to the event if voted player(s) in their position group are unable to participate. Selections from the two teams reaching the Super Bowl will be among those unable to play, as will players who are not cleared due to injury.
The 2024 Pro Bowl Games take place on Sunday, Feb. 4 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla., and will be televised live on ABC and ESPN.
It’s not often that Zac Taylor shows frustration with a line of questioning. But Wednesday he clearly got tired of the suggestion that there may not be that much on the line Sunday against the Browns.
“We’re going to try to win this game,” Taylor said when asked if a majority of starters would play.
How important is a winning record?
“Winning period. We wear it all week when we lose. It’s way better to win for everybody. That’s our plan is to do everything we can to win the game,” Taylor said.
Will placing an emphasis on winning factor into playing time?
“I don’t think everybody is listening to me,” Taylor said with some exasperation. “We are trying to win the game. We are playing everyone that will help us win the football game.”
“I don’t think everyone is listening to me. We’re trying to win the game.” Zac Taylor makes it clear in no uncertain terms the Bengals want to win this game Sunday, individual accomplishments or not. pic.twitter.com/c4uvVlUmPC
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) January 4, 2024
Taylor scoffed at the notion that some fans would prefer a loss to improve draft position in April.
“I don’t hear that,” Taylor said. “That’s the first I’ve heard of it. We isolate ourselves from that. It’s not frustrating. We just control what we can control and try to win every game.
“I can’t speak to any of that. We do our best to isolate ourselves to where we know what’s important. We know how hard we work. I know how much I enjoy time with this staff and this team. We owe it ourselves, and we certainly owe it to our fans who supported us through thick and thin and been there every step of the way. That is obviously representing our franchise the right way. Making something that our fans are proud of is important, but also just as important is all the work we’ve put in together ending on the right note with a win. That matters a lot to us.”
Mike Hilton, finishing his third season in Cincinnati, echoed Taylor sentiments.
“It’s our job. We still got a job to do. You got to go win a football game. There’s no quit. Guys want to go out there and win for this organization and this city. Guys still want to give it their all for each other and the whole community.” Hilton said. “Obviously, it’s been a rough year for us. One thing I can say for these guys we never gave up. We competed. We still got our main core guys coming back next year.”
Ja’Marr Chase (shoulder) and Tee Higgins (hamstring) were both in uniform tops for Wednesday’s light practice at the indoor structure. Higgins was getting fully stretched out during warmups but did not participate. Chase was officially listed as limited in Wednesday’s practice.
“I think they’re both sore coming out of the game,” Taylor said. “We’ll see where they go over the course of the week. Ja’Marr is probably a little further along than Tee. We’ll just plan to play it day-by-day.”
