CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bengals will head to Tampa Bay this weekend with suitcases full of irony and symmetry.

It was nearly a year ago to the day that the team was forced to shuffle its offensive line when left guard Clint Boling suffered a season-ending ACL injury in San Diego. Left tackle Andrew Whitworth slid over to guard and perennial backup Anthony Collins moved into the starting tackle position, and the offense continued to hum.

Collins, who also was a big factor earlier in the year while starting two games for the injured Whitworth, parlayed his performances into a five-year, $30 million contract with Tampa Bay, the team the Bengals will face Sunday as they try to cope with another devastating injury on the line.

Right tackle Andre Smith tore his triceps in last week’s win at Houston, which means Marshall Newhouse will try to become this year’s Anthony Collins while Collins himself looks on.

“It’s a heck of a responsibility for Marshall as we know,” Whitworth said. “The tackles here are asked to do a lot. He’s going to be blocking a lot of one-on-one. That’s a big responsibility, but he can do it.”

He’s been doing it for the last month after Smith suffered an ankle injury early in the Jacksonville game in Week 9. Newhouse came on early in the second quarter and helped rookie Jeremy Hill rush for 154 yards.

Newhouse started the following two games and had only been back on the sideline for eight plays before Smith suffered the triceps tear in Houston. Newhouse came in and did a solid job against Texans defensive end J.J. Watt, holding the likely Defensive Player of the Year without a sack thanks to some short drops and quick releases by quarterback Andy Dalton and some blocking help from tight end Jermaine Gresham.

“They tried to put J.J. on Marshall a lot more than normal, and he did a good job,” Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said. “That’s the way it is week in and week out in the NFL. Marshall’s played a lot of football. He was a starting player with the Packers, he’s played a lot of football there over the years, and that’s why he’s here to be able to fill in when an opportunity like this occurs, and he’s done a good job of it so far.”

Newhouse started 29 games for Green Bay in 2011 and 2012 when the Packers were winning back-to-back division titles. Now he’s back in a starting role as the Bengals try to win consecutive titles in the most competitive division in the league, where every team is at least three games above .500.

“All we have is our past experiences to go on,” Newhouse said. “I feel like I contributed to a lot of intense situations and adverse situations, winning and losing, all that stuff. There’s not much that can be thrown at me I don’t feel I’m prepared for.”

Unlike Collins, Newhouse wasn’t heavily sought-after his time ended in Green Bay. But he felt a kinship with Bengals offensive line coach Paul Alexander and he believed he would eventually get another chance to be more than a backup.

“A lot of guys, at any position, it’s about the situation,” Newhouse said. “You see guys, so and so, they’re not good at one place and they thrive at another place. As soon as you get the right fit, the right coaching, the right scheme, whatever because there are so many variables that go into being a successful player in the NFL other than talent. Talent is obviously the majority of it but being in the right fit, the right situation is huge.”

With Newhouse positioned on the edge, the offensive line has played a big role in three strong rushing performances in the last four games, and the Bengals will look to continue that in Tampa against a Buccaneers team that ranks 20th against the run.