After breaking his arm in Week 9, Chris Henry’s season was over. He had contributed a few catches and a couple of touchdowns to the cause in the first half of the season, but the rest of the Bengals’ journey toward the playoffs would be taken without him.

Which was a shame. 2009 had been shaping up as a season of redemption for the talented wide receiver.

For the first four years of his career, Henry had lived up to the “character concern” label that was placed on him leading into the 2005 NFL Draft. He was arrested on various charges, from drugs to DUI, and he missed several games — including half of the 2007 season and a fourth of last season — while serving league suspensions for player misconduct.

But this year was different. He came in determined to show that the man in the headlines was not the man he was, and by all indications, he succeeded. Teammates found a happier, more confident man who rededicated himself to his family and his profession, and he stayed out of trouble. Henry got off to a solid start — 12 catches for 236 yards in eight games — before getting carted off the field that Sunday in Cincinnati when the Bengals improved to 6-2.

We didn’t hear much from Henry after that — until Wednesday. That was when we learned Henry had suffered serious head injuries after falling out of the back of a pickup truck driven by his fiancée. He died the next day. He was 26.

Reports indicated that Henry and his fiancée were involved in some sort of a domestic dispute at the time, so maybe his life wasn’t picture perfect. Whose is? But there is no question he was headed in the right direction after years of mistakes. He was starting to figure things out. And that is what makes the tragedy of his death so much greater.

“Chris was a guy that I believe and our team believes was heavily misunderstood,” quarterback Carson Palmer said Thursday. “There was a lot of speculation about who he was, but the only guys that knew Chris and knew how good of a heart he had, how kind he was, how gentle he was, how soft of a heart he had, were the guys in our locker room, the guys who were close to him, his family.”

The Bengals, who already endured one tragedy this season when defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer lost his wife, play one of their biggest games of the season Sunday at San Diego. They will do so with very heavy hearts.

BIG GAMES

Cincinnati (9-4) at San Diego (10-3), Sunday, 4:05 p.m. Needing a win to keep the second-place Ravens at arm’s length, the sensible thing for the Bengals to do is to ram the ball down the Chargers’ throats. It’s what they do best, and it’s the area where San Diego is most vulnerable. Cedric Benson surely will get his chances, but a couple of things tell me that this will be a game the Bengals win via the pass. One is that Palmer, who threw for only 94 yards in Cincinnati’s loss to Minnesota last week, would like to quiet the critics who have questioned his arm this season. The other is that it would be a very appropriate way to honor the memory of their late teammate.

Dallas (8-5) at New Orleans (13-0), Saturday, 8:20 p.m. Thirteen wins have given the Saints enormous confidence. “Whether it’s our offense, defense or special teams, somehow we’re going to find a way to win the game,” quarterback Drew Brees says. The Cowboys, on the other hand, have been finding ways to lose in recent weeks — and they’re in no position to let it continue. They need a win to stay in control of their playoff destiny, while the Saints are, like the 14-0 Colts, merely pursuing perfection. Both teams have powerful offenses, but the difference is this: New Orleans is No. 1 in total offense (426.1 yards per game) and scoring offense (35.8 points per game), whereas Dallas is No. 3 in total offense (391.1) but only 13th in scoring (22.8). The Saints move the ball and score, but the Cowboys move the ball and miss field goals. Indeed, the Cowboys had better hope the game doesn’t come down to kicker Nick Folk’s foot because he has been about as reliable as my daughter when it’s time to take out the trash.

RELEVANT GAMES

Atlanta (6-7) at New York Jets (7-6), Sunday, 1 p.m. The Jets are among four AFC teams with 7-6 records that are fighting for what figures to be the final wild-card spot behind Denver. They need this win over the fading Falcons because games against the division-leading Colts and Bengals follow. Nothing is firm regarding Atlanta’s Matt Ryan and Michael Turner yet, but this could be another week of quarterback Chris Redman and running back Jason Snelling. That shouldn’t be too much trouble for the Jets’ league-leading defense; it’s just a matter of whether a conservative Jets offense can scrape up enough points to get by. Rookie Mark Sanchez will be back this week barring any setbacks, and that means coach Rex Ryan might actually allow his quarterback to throw the ball more than 10 yards in the air.

Miami (7-6) at Tennessee (6-7), Sunday, 1 p.m. Titans running back Chris Johnson said he challenged fellow speedster Ted Ginn to a footrace in the offseason, but that the Miami wide receiver didn’t show. Ginn won’t line up against Johnson on Sunday, but he will have to watch the league’s leading rusher flaunt his speed all afternoon. Nobody has been able to shut down Johnson for the last two months, but it’s worth noting the Dolphins did hold Jacksonville’s Maurice Jones-Drew to 59 yards rushing last week. And their own running back, the older, less flashy Ricky Williams, has been pretty tough lately, too. If Williams finds running room and quarterback Chad Henne continues his steady play, the Dolphins should keep up with the Titans on the scoreboard — even if they do find themselves failing to chase down Johnson once or twice.

San Francisco (6-7) at Philadelphia (9-4), Sunday, 1 p.m. The 49ers found the right balance between Alex Smith’s passing and Frank Gore’s running last week and made quick work of the Cardinals. Now they face the Eagles, who need to avoid stumbling against the 49ers before facing a pair of probable playoff teams, Denver and Dallas, in the final two weeks. The biggest problem for San Francisco this week is the venue; the 49ers are 1-5 on the road this season. The Eagles will take any advantages they can get because they can’t afford to surrender their one-game lead in the NFC East. The offense might have a bit of a hiccup without wide receiver Jeremy Maclin (plantar fasciitis), but his absence didn’t seem to hurt while the Eagles were slamming the Giants with 45 points a week ago. Honestly, any team with DeSean Jackson has no business complaining about its offensive woes. And the Eagles aren’t.

Green Bay (9-4) at Pittsburgh (6-7), Sunday, 4:15 p.m. Talk about two teams heading in different directions. The Steelers have lost five straight in a stretch that included the Chiefs, Raiders and Browns. What will they do now that the opponents get tougher? The Packers have won five in a row, and though they aren’t likely to catch the Vikings, it would take a major collapse to miss the playoffs. Even in Pittsburgh, both teams’ streaks figure to continue this week. Ben Roethlisberger got sacked eight times by the Browns in Week 14, and Green Bay’s second-ranked defense is a lot better than Cleveland’s. One thing the Steelers can do, though, is rush the quarterback; they rank second in the league with 39 sacks. Aaron Rodgers can feel the heat already.

Arizona (8-5) at Detroit (2-11), Sunday, 1 p.m. The Cardinals failed to clinch their second consecutive NFC West title when they laid an egg against the 49ers on Monday night, but their upcoming schedule is very forgiving. No matter what the Niners do the rest of the way, Arizona can lock it up with a win over Detroit and a win next week over St. Louis. That’s about as close to a sure thing as there is in this game — regardless of the state of Larry Fitzgerald’s knee.

New England (8-5) at Buffalo (5-8), Sunday, 1 p.m. Bills interim coach Perry Fewell is pulling out all the stops in an attempt to get the full-time gig. He even went so far this week as to claim guard Richie Incognito on waivers from the Rams to bolster his ailing offensive line. You never know when a head butt will come in handy. A win over New England could help Fewell’s cause, and it isn’t out of the question considering the Patriots still haven’t won a game in an opponent’s stadium all season. Coach Bill Belichick and Tom Brady must figure out how to handle the situation of Randy Moss, who appears to be teetering on the brink of checking out mentally. This week, though, Brady probably can get by with ultra-reliable receiver Wes Welker and the running back trio of Laurence Maroney, Sammy Morris and Kevin Faulk, who combined for 185 yards rushing last week. That’s about what the Bills, who make the likes of Jamaal Charles and Ryan Moats look like Barry Sanders and Marcus Allen, give up every week.

Minnesota (11-2) at Carolina (5-8), Sunday, 8:20 p.m. The Vikings are pretty darned good against the run — their streak of consecutive games without allowing a 100-yard rusher stands at 36 — and since running is the only thing the Panthers do well offensively, it’s not looking good for Carolina in what figures to be quarterback Matt Moore’s third start of the season. Carolina also isn’t well equipped to stop Minnesota’s offense, particularly running back Adrian Peterson. The Vikings would feel better if rookie wide receiver Percy Harvin felt better (his debilitating migraines make him iffy again this week), but they still have plenty of firepower to continue their march toward the No. 2 spot in the NFC playoff seedings.

Oakland (4-9) at Denver (8-5), Sunday, 4:05 p.m. Little was expected of quarterback Bruce Gradkowski before he took over for JaMarcus Russell four games back, but after leading the Raiders to upsets of Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, Gradkowski will be missed now that he has two bum knees. The Raiders are starting all over again, bypassing Russell and going straight to third-stringer Charlie Frye — which means things are so bad in Oakland, they’d rather cast their lot with another journeyman than give Russell another chance to redeem himself. The lack of film to watch on Frye will make the Broncos’ game preparation a little tougher, but their second-ranked pass defense is more than up to the task. And while Raiders cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha won’t let Brandon Marshall catch 21 passes again this week, the Broncos shouldn’t have much trouble scoring on a team that has given up at least 24 points in each of the last three weeks.

Chicago (5-8) at Baltimore (7-6), Sunday, 4:15 p.m. Ray Rice, Willis McGahee, Le’Ron McClain and backup quarterback Troy Smith ran for a combined five touchdowns last week as the Ravens rolled up 308 rushing yards against Detroit; the Bears’ run defense is toothless. Chicago’s Jay Cutler has averaged 1.7 interceptions per game; the Ravens pick off passes at the rate of 1.2 per game. You can see where this is headed — another win for Baltimore, another rough day at the office for Cutler and the Bears.

New York Giants (7-6) at Washington (4-9), Monday, 8:30 p.m. Earlier this season, a team with a weak defense could escape with a victory over Washington (see: Kansas City, Detroit) because the Redskins’ offense was even worse, but the Skins have scored no less than 24 points in each of the last three games. Quarterback Jason Campbell has been coming on, and tight end Fred Davis has emerged as a great red zone target. (Cooley who?) The Giants’ defense has been atrocious, so don’t think the Redskins can’t outscore New York — especially if rookie defensive end/outside linebacker Brian Orakpo brings the heat on Eli Manning the way he did against Oakland’s Gradkowski and Russell last week (four sacks). The Giants hold the tiebreaker edge over Dallas if it comes down to that for a playoff spot, but they almost certainly need this win for that to even come in play. Houston (6-7) at St. Louis (1-12), Sunday, 1 p.m. This game’s relevance is very borderline. Houston isn’t officially out of the playoff hunt, but a more realistic goal is its first-ever winning season — if it wins out. Houston’s sideline has about 10 times more talent than the Rams, and that doesn’t even take into account the swine flu factor.

DOG GAMES

Cleveland (2-11) at Kansas City (3-10), Sunday, 1 p.m. Both of these dead-end teams beat the Steelers, but the Browns did it more recently. And the Chiefs lost last week to Buffalo, the only other team Cleveland defeated this season. I find all that incredibly meaningful.

Tampa Bay (1-12) at Seattle (5-8), Sunday, 4:15 p.m. I’m always searching for meaning in my life. I’m not finding it here.

Del.icio.us | Digg it | Athlon Sports RSS Feeds