When it comes right down to it for Bengals safety Bryan Cook and Texans running back David Montgomery, Sunday's game (1 p.m.-Cincinnati's Local 12) in Houston won't be a whole heck of a lot different than that week at practice when their Mount Healthy High School dream team went deep into the Ohio playoffs a decade ago.

"The news cameramen on the sidelines were scared out of their minds," recalls Arvie Crouch, their head coach that day. "They were getting after it."

The Mount Healthy teammates meet for the third time in their NFL careers Sunday, and it's a rubber game after Cook's Chiefs beat Montgomery's Lions last year to even the rivalry at one. But this is no grudge match.

"He's my big bro," said Cook this week. At 27, Cook is still two years younger than Montgomery, like he was at McEvoy Park and the older Hillcrest Hawks practiced on the next patch of grass.

"He's been a blessing for me. As an older guy from Cincinnati, I always looked up to him," Cook said. "I bothered him with a lot of questions, and I still do. He's always had time to give me advice. He's real good people. I love him like he's my own brother."

Cook is hazy on the particulars. He must have tackled him in an NFL game. He had seven when the Lions beat the Chiefs in the 2023 opener, 21-20, and Montgomery had 74 yards on 21 carries, including the winning touchdown with seven minutes left.

And Cook had seven more tackles last season when the Chiefs beat Detroit, 30-17, and Montgomery had 24 yards on four carries.

But the 6-1, 210-pound Cook knows this about the 5-11, 230-pound Montgomery.

"The ultimate competitor," Cook said. "He's been like that since I met him. Solid, all-around player. An all-around back. He has moves and power, and he can block."

Crouch, now the head coach at Hamilton High, says when they've played against each other in the pros, it has left him the most drained of any games he's ever watched.

"It's so exciting and it's even better when one is on defense and one is on offense," Crouch said. "No matter what, you're rooting for your kid."

Crouch and his wife are still looking for a spot to watch Sunday. They took in one of the Cook-Montgomery games at Eli's Sports Bar in Ross, where Crouch lives, and he both loved and hated it.

"I'm a Bengals fan at heart my whole life, but when David has the ball, I want him to score," Crouch said. "When Cookie is out there, I want him to make a play."

No coach ever thinks two of their players are ever going to face each other in an NFL game. Never mind three times. But Crouch knew he had something when he made Montgomery his quarterback and Cook a cornerback.

"I knew they were special guys. NFL? I knew they could play Division I," Crouch said. "They not only had the talent, they had the character. Always there. Never missed. Both super conscientious. Both super intelligent. Both very caring."

Cook said the best bit of advice Montgomery was "to be myself. He told me what my strengths were X, Y, Z, and to be who I am because I was good enough and I needed that."

When Montgomery was running the Mount Healthy Wishbone, Cook was telling him that he was going to the next level with his moves and power. Montgomery paid him back this offseason.

They don't keep in touch during the season, but the offseason is open season. Especially this one, since Cook was in free agency for the first time. Montgomery, who was traded by the Lions to the Texans two weeks before Cook signed with the Bengals, had been through it before and Cook wanted to talk.

"He told me to be patient. Let the process play out," Cook said. "When I signed here, he was one of the first calls I made. He's been so willing to help me on and off the field. Telling me how it's a business and what to watch."

So by virtue of a trade and free agency, they meet again. While Arvie Crouch is looking for a TV Sunday, Bengals linebacker Barrett Carter has been watching on one what Montgomery did to them last season in Detroit's win. A total of 48 of his 65 yards came after contact, and he caused two missed tackles on his 18 carries.

"You've got to bring your feet because he's explosive," Carter said. "If you're not physical at the point of attack, he runs his feet very well. He got through some arm tackles last year. You have to bring your feet, and he's a threat in the passing game. All-round back."

But Cook already told you that.

"My juices are flowing," Crouch said. "I get nervous either way."

Slants and Screens

Joe Burrow threw a little bit more during warmups Thursday, but the Bengals’ injury report still listed him as limited a day after he assured Bengaldom he was playing despite back tightness …

Defensive end Shemar Stewart (knee) has gone full the last two days and looks poised to return after hyperextending his knee on the second snap of his training camp,

He said after Thursday's practice that he could give defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery 30 snaps in Houston. Of course, the beauty of this new D-Line is he doesn't have to. No one played more than 37 downs in last Sunday's win, and eight played at least 19. And Stewart can see himself able to knock the rust off in a heavy rotation.

"It doesn't matter how many snaps we play. As long as we're all in there all making plays," said Stewart, who says while he was rehabbing he did his running everywhere from the rehab field to the pool. "That's what makes you happy. You just want to win.

"We're just not going to keep one group out there and die. We're not going to do that. Keep everybody fresh. So everybody can perform at their highest level. After play six, seven, boy, you start seeing double."

Footnote: Stewart played 37 snaps in his NFL debut last year …

All-Pro receiver Ja’Marr Chase is coming off a two-catch game for 12 yards, his fewest since one catch for three yards during his rookie year in Denver. That one was also a win where Chase didn't unload after it was over.

"I think I held my attitude accountable. I didn't flip. I didn't do extra stuff. I feel like a pro," Chase said after Thursday's practice. "At the end of the day, I was just worried. I just wanted to win. As an athlete, as a competitor, the best thing I want to do is just help my team as much as I can do as possible for the team to win."

Chase admitted a younger version of himself with no captain's C may have reacted differently.

"Not happy. Not happy. I wouldn't have been happy," Chase said.

But he gets it.

"They did a good job of taking some of the throws away. They took some throws away, but I still had other opportunities to make an impact in the game," Chase said. "Joe probably just didn't like what he saw the other day, and that's why he's the quarterback. That's why I'm the receiver." …