CINCINNATI (AP) — For the Cincinnati Bengals this week, heading into an AFC North matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers with first place in the division on the line, a successful day on defense starts with handling Steelers running back Jaylen Warren.
Warren has two 100+ yard rushing games in his last three matchups against the Bengals. Back in their Week 3 meeting in Pittsburgh, an explosive run from Warren set up the game-deciding field goal in a 30-27 win for the Steelers.
“They’re really comfortable with their run game, and we’ll have to be really good at executing,” defensive coordinator Al Golden said. “(Warren) is extremely talented. I’ve always thought he was. He has great ballast. Power. They’re getting the ball to him a lot on the perimeter, and he’s making people pay.”
Warren ranks sixth in the NFL in rushing yards and first in yards per carry.
The Bengals’ defense has allowed the eighth-most rushing yards per game in the NFL this season. They’ve specifically struggled on runs outside of the tackles. On Wednesday, Golden emphasized the importance of needing to be better at toss runs toward the sideline.
Last week, when the Bengals beat the Atlanta Falcons, 34-17, Atlanta got some early momentum on a game-opening touchdown drive with a 19-yard run on a toss play.
The Bengals responded after the opening drive and kept Robinson in check for most of the rest of the game. He didn’t have a run of 10+ yards after the first quarter.
The Bengals’ success against Robinson, an All-Pro, gives the defense momentum heading into this week’s matchup against Warren.
Golden said that he’s seeing improvement from Bengals’ second-year linebackers Demetrius Knight Jr. and Barrett Carter.
“I love the trajectory of both of those guys,” Al Golden said. “We have to keep going. Obviously, we’re eight games in going on nine now. We have to continue to make positive gains.”
Golden said that Carter is coming off of one of his best games in the NFL. Knight has made several splash plays in the backfield recently.
“Linebacker is one of the most challenged positions in football,” Golden said. “Especially the way the game is going. There’s so much eye candy pre-snap. You have shifts, motions, jet motions. A lot of things to mess with your keys. A lot of key breakers. Those guys are in the middle of it. They’re both responding really well.”
A big question in the Bengals’ run defense is what they can expect at the slot corner position. Josh Newton took over as the starter last week, becoming the Bengals’ third different slot corner to start a game for the team this season. He has room to grow as a tackler, and this is his chance to show his development as a player.
“(Newton) plays with a lot of fire,” coach Zac Taylor said. “It’s really important to him. Emotional player, does his job. Does exactly how we want him to do it. So I think that he’s been a good addition over there and helped us.”
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Cincinnati Bengals safety Jordan Battle (27) reacts after Atlanta Falcons place kicker Nick Folk (6) missed a field goal attempt during an NFL football game in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
DALLAS (AP) — Rapper Yella Beezy was found guilty on Wednesday of hiring the gunman who fatally shot rapper MO3 in a brazen daylight attack on a busy Dallas interstate in 2020.
Yella Beezy, 35, whose real name is Markies Conway, was unanimously convicted of capital murder by a Dallas County jury in the death of MO3, whose real name was Melvin Noble. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
In September, a jury found Kewon White guilty of capital murder for fatally shooting Noble. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Prosecutors said the killing was the result of an yearslong escalating feud between Conway and Noble. Both men lived in Dallas.
“We don’t know what turned it for the jurors. … We appreciate the verdict,” lead prosecutor Tommy Adams told reporters. “We think they got it right today.”
“It’s been one of the most challenging cases over the last six years,” he added.
Prosecutors said Conway paid White $40,000 for the shooting.
Noble, 28, was driving on Interstate 35 in south Dallas around noon on Nov. 11, 2020, when White pulled alongside him, authorities said. White stepped out of his vehicle holding a gun. Noble got out of his own vehicle and began running on the freeway as White shot at him, authorities said.
Prosecutor Tommy Adams said White wore a mask and fired over 40 rounds from an AK-47-style pistol while chasing Noble.
White shot Noble and a bystander who was inside a car, police said. The bystander survived, but Noble died at a hospital.
During closing arguments, prosecutors showed jurors a video clip of Conway talking about revenge in an interview, saying he would “get his lick back.” Prosecutor Krystal Biggins drew a comparison between Noble’s killing and a roadway shooting that injured Conway in 2018.
In October 2018, Conway survived being shot while driving on a tollway in the Dallas suburb of Lewisville when someone pulled up next to him and opened fire, hitting him three times.
“This was for the world to see,” Biggins said. “Over a rap beef, we are here for capital murder.”
The defense argued that prosecutors did not prove their case. “This is capital murder, and the state has brought you a lot of speculation,” defense attorney John Gussio said.
Noble had more than 800,000 Instagram followers and was best known for a 2019 remix of “Errybody,” with Baton Rouge, Louisiana, rapper Boosie Badazz.
Conway is best known for his 2017 single, “That’s On Me,” and the 2019 song “Bacc At It Again” with Quavo and Gucci Mane.
Musician Yella Beezy, whose real name is Markies Conway, passes through a metal detector as he enters the court after a break in his murder-for-hire trial in Dallas, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Musician Yella Beezy, whose real name is Markies Conway, stands in court during his murder-for-hire trial in Dallas, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Musician Yella Beezy, whose real name is Markies Conway, center, walks in the court's hallway during a break in his murder-for-hire trial in Dallas, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Musician Yella Beezy, whose real name is Markies Conway, sits in court during his murder-for-hire trial in Dallas, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
