Bengals head coach Zac Taylor confirmed that Joe Burrow practiced full Friday for the first time during a week he had been limited with back soreness and his quarterback looks good to go.

The Bengals listed Burrow as questionable, but after talking with him Taylor said he feels good about him in Sunday's game (1 p.m.-Cincinnati’s Local 12) against the Texans. He said there's "a possibility," practice squad quarterback Josh Johnson could be elevated to the roster, which would give the Bengals a third quarterback behind Burrow and Joe Flacco at Reliant Stadium.

Taylor has no qualms about unleashing Burrow after he took a shot in last Sunday's win over the Buccaneers.

"This is the NFL, and of course we want him to be safe and healthy," Taylor said. "I'm not comfortable saying don't go get the first down on third and eight, and be two yards short, and let's go for it. That's why he's here. He's a competitor, and you take that from him, and now what do you have? You've got a guy who you're taking the stinger out of him a little bit. I'm not I'm not about that."

Taylor also said that defensive end Shemar Stewart (knee) is good to go after missing the opener and listed defensive tackle B.J. Hill (Achilles) as questionable with what Taylor called "soreness," and not a new injury."

Slants and Screens

Taylor and Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans have a mutual admiration society going. They've only met once (in 2023 at Paycor Stadium when Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud led a last-play field goal drive for the 30-27 win), but they've kept seeing the other team on tape ever since.

Taylor is impressed with how fast and smart the Houston defense plays, just like Ryans did when he roamed the Houston middle as a Texans linebacker- captain for a decade. Ryans is an admirer of how Taylor has packaged his offense around Burrow.

"This is a fun offense to watch. These guys are very detailed in what they do," Ryans told the Houston media this week. "Zac Taylor's done a phenomenal job with these guys and their team looks great from the first week.

"(Burrow is) one of the best quarterbacks I've watched and studied. From the standpoint of his accuracy, ball placement, their horizontal spacing as an offense and how he's able to really throw the ball around wherever he wants to. He can place the ball, on the sideline, on the numbers, wherever he wants to put it, he'll put it there." …

Burrow has yet to beat a Ryans defense in two shots despite glittering outings. A 125.6 passer rating went for naught in 2021 when Ryans was the defensive coordinator for the 49ers team that posted a 26-23 overtime Paycor win, and his 347 yards weren't enough to beat Stroud in '23.

Yet Burrow's 347.5 passing yards per game are the most by any quarterback to make multiple starts against Ryans and his 106.5 passer rating is second among quarterbacks with at least two starts against Ryans, and that includes playoffs ...

In the opener, the Texans allowed Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid and wide receiver DJ Moore 100-yard receiving games. It 's only the second time the Texans have done that in Ryans' four seasons. The first time was at Paycor in that '23 game when Ja'Marr Chase went for 124 and Tyler Boyd for 117 ...

Edge Boye Mafe is coming off that monster Bengals sack-strip debut staring at old friend Trent Brown, the Texans right tackle.

It will be recalled the massive 6-8, 380-pound Brown played three games for the 2024 Bengals before his season-ending injury forced rookie Amarius Mims into the starting lineup. At 6-8, 350 pounds, Mims teams with 6-8, 350-pound left tackle Orlando Brown Jr., to form a unique bookend that Mafe thinks may give him a boost when he faces Brown. He agrees that the Browns and Mims are just three of a kind when it comes to protecting the edge around the NFL.

"It definitely helps you understand and see what it's like being in those positions," said Mafe this week after a training camp of facing Orlando Brown and Mims.  "They play so long with their length that it emphasizes you have to be in the right position."

The Texans O-line didn't have a great day in the 36-31 loss to the Bills last Sunday, allowing 16 pressures of quarterback C.J. Stroud. Brown had three of them and gave up a sack, according to Pro Football Focus …

Cashius Howell, the Bengals' top draft pick, has had time to digest the first 25 snaps of his career on the edge (which he called "a "blur in a good way") that included a pressure and here's what he's looking to improve in game two:

"I was late getting off the ball (on some snaps), so I'm looking to focus on that and trying to step across the line of scrimmage and playing on the other side." …