After going through a couple weeks of training camp, the Bengals had their preseason opener on Thursday, taking on the Philadelphia Eagles on the road. Concerned about the team’s slow starts in each of their last few seasons, it was said that the starters would see more playing time than they had in other preseasons. As well, this one was the first chance to see the rookies take the field in stripes.
As promised, we saw the starters get a bit of a run. The game started with Cincinnati on offence, and a 12 yard completion from Burrow to Chase on 3rd down was the first play of significance. After a couple of short, but solid pickups, Burrow found Chase for another big one, this time, 23 yards. A 9 yard completion to Chase Brown got the ball inside the 10, but a couple of penalties then nullified two Bengal TD’s. However, Burrow would soon find Tanner Hudson from 12 yards out. 7-0 Bengals.
Philly counted back with a drive of their own that sliced through the Cincinnati defence. Dotson caught a 12 yard pass from Tanner McKee, who looked quite good in his showcase. Then, Shipley ripped off a 38 yard run. After Dotson added another 15 through the air, the Eagles offence chipped away near the goal line, before finding the end zone on a 4th down tush push. 7-7.
The Bengals, with their starting offence on the field again, answered back. A 13 yard catch by Brown got things going. A few plays later, Burrow found Ja’Marr Chase on the out route, who then turned it upfield and found himself with a lot of green in front of him. He went all the way, taking it to the house for a 36 yard TD, giving the Bengals a 14-7 lead.
The Eagles would score the next 17 points of this game. They first added a field goal to answer the Bengals second TD. They then closed out the first half with two straight TD drives. The first was a 6 yard pass from McKee to Smith, on a drive that was highlighted by an 18 yard catch by Wilson and a 16 yard catch by Cooper. The second came off a big punt return. It set the Eagles up at the 20, and it took only one play for McKee to find Cooper in the end zone. 24-14 Eagles at the half.
Coming out of the half, the two teams traded field goals to make the score 27-17 for the Eagles.
After the two teams again traded field goals, the Eagles were able to get back into the end zone. This next one was set up by a Jake Browning interception where he was looking for Brooks on the screen. It was returned to the Cincinnati 20, and they only needed 5 plays to punch it in. Powell did the honours on a carry from 2 yards out. 34-17.
Down by 17 points, the Bengals rallied later in the 2nd half to make the scoreline respectable. After adding another field goal, the Bengals offence, led by Desmond Ridder, went on a 92 yard scoring drive. A 42 yard catch by Jamoi Mayes was the highlight of the drive, but it became the Tanner Hudson show by the end of it. Ridder first found Hudson for 21 yards on 4th & 8. The next two plays were both 12 yard completions to Hudson, with the second one going for a TD. It was the 2nd of the game for the veteran TE, and made the score 34-27 for the Eagles, which is how it ended.
The Bengals are back at it on August 18, where they will be taking on the Washington Commanders in week 2 of their preseason.
