Nov 12, 2018 4 min read

Marvin Lewis got the Bengals’ head coaching job because of his reputation for defensive excellence. He’s now in charge of trying to resuscitate a historically bad unit and pulling Cincinnati’s season back from the brink.

The Bengals fired defensive coordinator Teryl Austin Monday, a day after a 51-14 loss to the Saints that ranks among the worst in franchise history. New Orleans scored on every possession except the last one – when it took a knee while in field-goal range – during its rout at Paul Brown Stadium.

The fading Bengals (5-4) fired a coordinator in midstream for the second season in a row. And it’s up to Lewis to get hands-on and try to fix the mess while filling two roles at once.

“Teryl worked very hard, but I just felt like we have to rock their world, shake things up,” Lewis said.

The timing was curious. The Bengals were coming off their bye week that would have given them time to adapt to a change at coordinator. Now, they’re changing on the fly while getting ready for a pivotal AFC North game at Baltimore (4-5) Sunday.

Lewis took the defense aside a few times on Sunday, trying to clear up confusion. While he won’t change the defensive schemes, he’ll try to bring more clarity to players’ responsibilities.

“They want help: ‘Give me something,'” Lewis said.

The Bengals have given up at least 500 yards in three straight games – a first in the Super Bowl era – and are on pace to give up an NFL record for yards in a season . In the past four games, Cincinnati has allowed 481, 551, 576 and 509 yards.

Saints sign Marshall: Saints coach Sean Payton says the Saints have signed veteran receiver Brandon Marshall.

Marshall’s addition adds depth to an offense that already leads the NFL in scoring with 36.7 points per game and ranks in the top five in yards per game with 413.9.

Last week, the Saints signed receiver Dez Bryant, but he tore his Achilles in only his second practice and never played a game for New Orleans.

The Seattle Seahawks released Marshall Oct. 30 after he’d appeared in Seattle’s first seven games this season, catching 11 passes for 136 yards and one touchdown. But his involvement in the offense dropped after Week 3 and he had just two catches for 16 yards in his last four games.

Seattle was the sixth NFL team for the 34-year-old Marshall, who has eight 1,000-plus-yard seasons in his career. His best season, statistically, came with the New York Jets in 2015, when he caught 109 passes for 1,502 yards and 14 touchdowns. Marshall entered this season trying to come back from an ankle injury and toe surgery that cost him the majority of the 2017 season with the New York Giants.

Flacco’s status uncertain: Carrying a three-game losing streak and a losing record, the Baltimore Ravens now face the burden of uncertainty at the quarterback position.

Joe Flacco is nursing a hip injury that could keep him out of Sunday’s game against Cincinnati, an AFC North matchup that carries huge ramifications for the sagging Ravens.

With Baltimore coming off a bye, Flacco received an additional week of rest and treatment after sustaining the injury on Nov. 4 in the opening minutes of a 23-16 loss to Pittsburgh. Flacco went the distance, completed 23 of 37 passes for 206 yards. His status this week, however, is unclear.

“He’s getting treatment, just like all the guys are getting treatment, and we’ll see,” coach John Harbaugh said Monday. “I’d say that we’ll know more as the week goes on and I’m hopeful all our guys play, including Joe.”

If Flacco can’t play, rookie Lamar Jackson will likely get his first NFL start.

“It’s up in the air. We’re not worried about it,” Harbaugh insisted. “We’re blessed with a good quarterback room. It’s a good thing, that’s a positive thing. We’ve got three guys who can play. It’s just like any other position in my mind. You go with the next guy and you roll.”