Cincinnati Bengals could be without CB Adam Jones against Pittsburgh Steelers

Preparing to face the NFL's second-ranked offense is difficult enough, but heading into Sunday's clash with the Pittsburgh Steelers and a chance to wrap up the AFC North title, Cincinnati's depleted secondary suffered another blow when cornerback Adam Jones showed up in the locker room on Wednesday with a cast on his right foot.

Jones played through the injury the past two weeks while deferring his punt return duties.

While Bengals coach Marvin Lewis was cryptic as usual discussing Jones' injury, the fact that the foot was in a cast indicates Jones won't be available to play Sunday.

"I would assume that until I get the saw out later," Lewis said when asked if Jones could return to practice. "I'll save that until Saturday maybe."

Cornerback Leon Hall (back) and safety George Iloka (groin) sat out practice on Wednesday. Cornerback Darqueze Dennard already is on injured reserve.

Cincinnati is among the healthiest teams in the NFL this season, sans the secondary.

To fortify the ranks, the Bengals re-signed CB Chris Lewis-Harris, who was waived on Dec. 5. Before last week's game against Cleveland, Troy Hill was promoted off the practice squad.

Cincinnati hopes cornerback Josh Shaw recovers after being knocked out of the Cleveland game with a head injury. Hill returned to practice on Wednesday.

The task on Sunday is to cover Pittsburgh's bevy of talented receivers, including playmakers Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant. They helped the Steelers average more than 35 points the past four weeks.

The Bengals also got some good news Wednesday when tight end Tyler Eifert, the NFL's touchdown receptions leader, returned to practice.

Eifert suffered a stinger in a victory over the St. Louis Rams on Nov. 29. Tests revealed no structural damage, but Eifert sat out Sunday's win over the Cleveland Browns, a decision that appears more precautionary in nature.

The former Notre Dame standout has 46 catches this season for 522 yards and 12 touchdowns.

--Pittsburgh's defense allows more than 356 yards per game and yet the Steelers rank seventh in points allowed. That's because Mike Tomlin's team tightens up in the red zone.

For that, Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton credits the linebackers.

"Scheme-wise, they do a good job of trying to disguise things," Dalton said. "They've got athletic guys all over the field, especially at linebacker. Those guys can run."