After 10 good training camp sessions, the Bengals opened their preseason at home against the Detroit Lions on Thursday. While the Lions chose not to play any starters, the Bengals had theirs in for a couple of drives.
The game started with Detroit stringing together a handful of plays before Jordan Battle was able to take advantage of a tipped pass. On the Bengals opening drive, Burrow completed a 16 yard pass to Ja’Marr Chase. They ran the play action from under centre. But a sack later derailed the drive, and they ended up punting.
A handful of modest gains allowed the Bengals to stack up yards on their second drive. Although it again stalled out, a 56 yard field goal by Evan McPherson got them on the board first.
3-0 Bengals.
With the backups in, the Bengals offence started driving. A Kendall Milton fumble saw the Lions briefly get the ball back. But on their first play off the turnover, Altmyer fumbled it. Rookie 2nd round pick Cashius Howell pounced on it and got the ball back to the offence.
Deep in Detroit territory, the Bengals were able to extend their lead. On 2nd & goal, Joe Flacco hit rookie 7th round pick Jack Endries for the TD.
10-0 Bengals.
The Lions added 2 field goals before the end of the 1st half, while the Bengals would go on to add 2 in the 2nd half. Cincinnati was up 16-6 late in the game, but an Altmyer TD pass to Black, along with a successful 2 point conversion, made things interesting.
Down 16-14, the Lions tried to go on a game winning drive. But inside their own 10 and with 25 seconds on the clock, Altmyer had to push the ball down the field. But on the first play, his pass sailed into the hands of Russ Yeast, whose interception sealed the win for the Bengals.
16-14 Bengals. Final.
For week 2 of the preseason, the Bengals will head to Chicago to take on the Bears.
