Bengals RB Khalil Herbert gets the green light for Thursday Night Football

The Cincinnati Bengals are working hard to try and rescue their 2024 season. Cincinnati is 4-5 heading into Week 10 and has little margin for error if they want to climb back into the AFC playoff hunt. Thankfully, they will be getting some reinforcements ahead of their Week 10 matchup against the Ravens .

Bengals running back Khalil Herbert is expected to play on Thursday against the Ravens, per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. The Bengals acquired Herbert via a trade with the Bears on Tuesday. Herbert worked aggressively over the last few days to get up to speed on Cincinnati's offense. Now he can play a huge role in their backfield next to Chase Brown.

This is great news for a Cincinnati team that desperately needs reinforcements at running back. Veteran Zack Moss suffered a neck injury that is expected to cause him to miss at least the rest of the regular season. As a result, there is an opportunity for Herbert to contribute right away. Chase Brown, who is expected to become the primary back for the Bengals for the remainder of the season.

Bengals QB Joe Burrow was thrilled to learn about the trade .

"I'm glad we went out and tried to get better," Burrow said, via Ben Baby of ESPN.

Burrow also noted that he appreciates that Herbert is solid in pass protection and can take some carries off of Chase Brown's workload.

Bengals' Tee Higgins gets pessimistic injury update ahead of Ravens game

Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins has already missed two games with a quad injury . There is a good chance that Higgins does not play on Thursday Night Football .

"It does not appear likely the Bengals will have injured wide receiver Tee Higgins back for Thursday night's game against the Ravens," ESPN's Dan Graziano said. "[This game] kicks off a vital three-game stretch that likely will determine Cincinnati's season.

Every game is important to the Bengal during this second half of the regular season. Unfortunately, playing without Higgins could make it that much more difficult to get a win. This is a scenario that makes things even more difficult for Cincinnati.

"After the Ravens, the Bengals will play the Chargers and Steelers — two other teams that Cincinnati is chasing in the standings. If the Bengals can go 2-1 or 3-0 in this stretch, they will be in position to make a run at the playoffs. If they can't, it's going to be very tough to fight their way back into the race."

Both the Ravens and Steelers are tough opponents, but the Bengals are familiar with them as division rivals. The Chargers are the only cupcake on this three-game stretch, but even they should not be ignored.

If the Bengals lose to the Ravens on Thursday Night Football, they will be in "win or go home" mode for the rest of the regular season.