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CINCINNATI (AP) — A.J. Green had surgery on his injured toe. Tight end Tyler Eifert is recovering from a broken ankle. Andy Dalton is gone Bobby Okereke Jersey , too, sidelined by a torn thumb ligament in his passing hand.What’s left of the Bengals‘ offense? Running back Joe Mixon, who’s settling into the role Cincinnati envisioned for him during last year’s draft.Mixon carried a career-high 26 times for 111 yards and had a team-high five catches during a 26-21 loss to the Chargers on Sunday, Cincinnati’s fifth in a row.With Jeff Driskel starting for Dalton and Green gone, Mixon is getting a chance to show the versatility that led Cincinnati to draft him in the second round despite the public pushback.Mixon either ran the ball or was the intended receiver on 10 of the Bengals’ first 13 plays in Los Angeles in a game plan built around the running back.“Some guys have to step up to even another level than they’re used to playing at,” Mixon said Wednesday. “I’m going to embrace it.”The Bengals (5-8) will make him the centerpiece again Sunday in their final home game against the Oakland Raiders (3-10) , who are coming off a 24-21 win over Pittsburgh .Mixon has been one of the few bright spots in an offense that’s unraveled as players got hurt, one of the few constants during a stretch of seven losses in the past eight games.“He’s a high-energy guy,” Driskel said. “He’s somebody that brings it day-in and day-out. He’s definitely somebody who we can all lean on.”The Bengals were castigated for making him the 48th overall pick last year. Mixon punched a woman in the face and was suspended for a season at Oklahoma, prompting other teams to pass on him early in the draft.Mixon played a limited role as a rookie, when he was slotted behind Jeremy Hill. Mixon had one 100-yard rushing game as Cincinnati finished 7-9.He ascended to the top spot this season, but missed two games because of knee surgery to remove torn cartilage. He ran for a career-high 123 yards against Tampa Bay and 111 against the Chargers.With a historically bad defense, the Bengals have had to play catch-up, limiting Mixon’s chances to run. He’s averaging 4.8 yards per carry, which ranks fourth in the AFC among backs with at least 100 carries.The biggest improvement in Mixon has been his discipline to follow the designed path of plays rather than improvising. He’s running behind a better offensive line, and he’s been more determined to take advantage of it.“It’s like a domino effect,” he said.If he stays healthy, Mixon will top 1,000 yards after running for only 625 — and a 3.5-yard average — last season. He’s had five games with 100 yards rushing and receiving combined Khari Willis Jersey , the most since Hill did it five times in 2014. BenJarvus Green-Ellis had six such games in 2012.He’ll get plenty of chances. Green had surgery on his injured toe Tuesday and won’t return, leaving Mixon as their best option in December.“We’ve got three more weeks,” Mixon said.BURFICT STILL OUTLinebacker Vontaze Burfict remained in concussion protocol on Wednesday after missing the Chargers game. Defensive end Michael Johnson also is sidelined with a concussion. Cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick was held out of practice with an ankle injury that sidelined him in Los Angeles. Left tackle Cordy Glenn had a limited practice Wednesday, an improvement after missing the past three games with a back injury.McRAE PRACTICINGCornerback Tony McRae was back at practice Wednesday on a limited basis. He suffered a concussion during a loss to Cleveland and was taken off the field on a back board as a precaution. He was in protocol the past two weeks. NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Saints coach Sean Payton dismisses the premise that the Eagles could derive extra motivation from the widespread perception that New Orleans ran up the score on them when they met in November.“My question would be: We’re all playing hard in these divisional playoff games, right?” Payton began, referring to Sunday’s rematch in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs.“Are you going to play harder” because of a perceived slight?Still, Payton expects a more competitive affair than the Saints’ 48-7 blowout of the Eagles on Nov. 18, which gave Philadelphia the dubious distinction of becoming the first reigning Super Bowl champion to lose by that wide a margin in the following regular season.Article continues below ...The Eagles (10-7) appeared to be sinking fast when their loss in New Orleans dropped them to 4-6. But they’ve rallied to win six of seven since, including a road victory against the Los Angeles Rams that helped New Orleans (13-3) capture the conference’s top seed.“They’ve kind of been in a playoff role really going back to those games, needing to win to get in,” Payton noted. “So it’s impressive.”Now the Eagles, who opened as 10-point underdogs this week, can ruin the Saints’ Super Bowl dreams with a second straight road upset.“We’re looking forward to it,” Eagles tight end Zach Ertz said. “We’re a completely different team than we were seven weeks ago. I don’t think the team that showed up on that Sunday is even remotely close to the team that we are right now.”Such a lopsided loss in New Orleans could have resulted in finger-pointing and a fractured locker room, Ertz suggested. Instead, Ertz said, “It was a rallying point for our season.”The Eagles survived last week’s wild-card round with a 16-15 victory in which quarterback Nick Foles — who’s won four straight starts since taking over for injured starter Carson Wentz — engineered a late scoring drive capped by a fourth-down touchdown pass. And that only stood up after Chicago kicker Cody Parkey’s “double-doink” miss on a field-goal attempt that hit both the upright and crossbar in the final seconds.Philadelphia likely will need more offense in the Superdome, where the Saints averaged 37 points in Drew Brees’ seven home starts before the record-setting QB got a rest day during the club’s anti-climactic regular-season finale.“I assume they’ll come in as motivated as ever. Just like we’re going to come in as motivated as ever,” Brees said. “Just two really good teams about to play in a playoff game.”Some other story lines surrounding the third Eagles-Saints playoff clash since Payton and Brees joined forces in New Orleans in 2006.STARTING FASTThe Eagles have won 19 straight games when they score in the first quarter Josh Allen Jersey , including 7-0 this season. They scored on a field-goal drive last week in the first quarter. It’ll be even more important to score early against the high-powered Saints. New Orleans is 5-0 when leading after one quarter, 9-0 when leading at halftime and won eight times by double-digit margins.“We are starting the games better now over the last six, seven games,” Eagles offensive coordinator Mike Groh said. “Defense is doing a really good job getting off the field early in the game. We’re able to get the lead.”Coach Doug Pederson has deferred the kickoff to the second half whenever the Eagles have won the coin toss. Perhaps he’ll reconsider if he wins the toss this week.RESTED SAINTSSeveral prominent Saints players haven’t played in more than two weeks. Brees, who completed an NFL single-season record 74.4 percent of his passes, and dynamic running back Alvin Kamara, who had 1,592 yards and 18 TDs from scrimmage, were both healthy scratches in Week 17.Meanwhile, two starting offensive linemen who’ve been nursing injuries — left tackle Terron Armstead (chest) and right guard Larry Warford (knee) — both sat out the regular-season finale.“Our O-line being healthy, back to pretty much 100 percent, guys are just excited, rejuvenated and ready to play,” Kamara said.Armstead has yet to confirm he’ll be ready, but he practiced this week and said with a smile, “I feel good about Sunday.”DUMP-OFFSBoth teams are adept at using running backs as receivers. Kamara (81 catches, 709 yards) is New Orleans’ second-leading receiver behind Michael Thomas. Mark Ingram also has been effective on screens for New Orleans.Meanwhile, the Saints anticipate the Eagles to look for former Saints running Darren Sproles, who Jawaan Taylor Jersey , like Foles, did not play in the previous meeting.“Darren has got incredibly good instincts on setting up some of these screens,” said Payton, who employed Sproles similarly from 2011-13. “Quite honestly, we haven’t been as good this year as we have in other years in that area, but a lot of it depends on the opponent you’re playing.”PROVEN PROTECTIONAlthough All-Pro defensive linemen Aaron Donald (20½ sacks), J.J. Watt (16) and Khalil Mack (12½) combined for 49 sacks this season, they were all held without a sack against Philadelphia.An offensive line featuring All-Pro center Jason Kelce, Pro Bowl right guard Brandon Brooks and tackles Lane Johnson and Jason Peters has held up well against their best competition. Their latest challenge features Saints end Cameron Jordan (12 sacks) and tackle Sheldon Rankins (eight).“Any time that we hear a lot about our opponent, especially the guys up front, it just seems like our guys have really embraced that opportunity and embraced the challenge,” Pederson said.Having Peters and Johnson at the tackle spots allows Pederson to let those guys man-up against opponents’ premier pass-rushers instead of using tight ends on double teams.“As a play caller it makes it a little easier because they are playing well, and they are controlling the line of scrimmage,” Pederson said. “The more guys you can put into a route, obviously, more opportunities for completions.”