PITTSBURGH _ The Bengals faced the NFL’s leading receiver Sunday without starting cornerback Adam Jones when the back injury he suffered two weeks ago in the win over Buffalo put him on the inactive list 90 minutes before kickoff at Heinz Field. That figured to give Darqueze Dennard the start when the Steelers deploy wide receiver Antonio Brown and his league-best 700 yards.
As expected rookie Josh Malone avoided the inactive list for the first time in his career when fellow back-up wide receivers Tyler Boyd (knee) and John Ross (knee) were shelved.