It was the Super Bowl LVI rematch, albeit the preseason version. The Bengals hosted the Rams in the preseason finale. No starters from either team played in this one, so we didn’t see a carryover of the fighting that took place in the second joint practice between the two teams.
The Bengals got a 1st down on the opening play from scrimmage, as Brandon Allen was able to hit Mike Thomas. A few plays later, they were in a 3rd & 4 situation, and Stanley Morgan wasn’t able to hang on, for what would have been a 1st down. LA went three and out on their drive. On the first play of their second drive, Stanley Morgan was able to make up for his mistake, catching a 32 yard pass from Allen. It led to a McPherson 38 yard field goal. 3-0 Bengals.
A few drives later, the Rams found themselves driving. On the Cincy 10 yard line, Funk took the handoff, but fumbled the ball. Trayvon Henderson was credited with the force and the recovery.
The Bengals were able to take advantage of the turnover and go on a long field goal drive. Brandon Allen hit Kendric Pryor deep for 38 yards before finding Trenton Irwin for another 10. Later, an 11 yard completion to Lassiter put the Bengals in the red zone. Unfortunately, the drive stalled out. McPherson was good from 39. 6-0 Bengals.
With one more drive before the end of the half, Jake Browning would get things going for the Bengals. He completed a 13 yard pass to Pryor and later a 20 yarder to Irwin. A few solid plays by Trayveon Williams set them up inside the 10. With 6 seconds left, Browning found Thaddeus Moss for the TD. Unfortunately, it was called back due to offensive pass interference. It was a questionable call, but nevertheless, the Bengals had to settle for another field goal. 9-0 at the half.
After each team failed to score on their first two drives of the 2nd half, the Rams finally got on the scoreboard. Bryce Perkins led an 80 yard drive, finding McCutcheon for 19 yards, which highlighted the drive. Perkins capped it off with a 3 yard TD run. 9-7 Bengals.
With only a 2 point lead, the Bengals were able to go on a time consuming scoring drive to go back up two scores. Browning found Irwin for 14 to start things off. There was a hiccup when Moss dropped a wide open pass down the middle. However, Browning kept things going, completing passes to Lassiter, Pryor, and Trayveon Williams, respectively. Now at the three yardline, Browning found TE Justin Rigg for the score. It put the Bengals up 16-7, which is how it ended.
The Bengals now turn their focus to the regular season. They will host the Pittsburgh Steelers in a couple of weeks for the season opener.
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