After a long offseason of waiting, Bengals football is officially back! The defending AFC Champions took the field in the newly named Paycor stadium to take on the Arizona Cardinals in the preseason opener. Several position battles have been going on since the start of camp. This was the first opportunity for those players to prove themselves in live game action.
The Bengals started out slowly on both sides of the ball. After giving up about 15 yards on the drive, Allan George was called for pass interference on 3rd down. The penalty pushed the ball up 40 yards for the Cardinals. The drive ended with a 4 yard TD from Trace McSorley to Baccellia.
The offence didn’t do much better. Chris Evans ripped off a big run on the first play, but a Thaddeus Moss holding call negated it. A 15 yard pass from Brandon Allen to Trent Taylor was the highlight of the drive, as a sack and Adeniji holding call would go on to derail the drive. On top of that, Allen would take a hit, which would force him to miss the remainder of the game with a concussion.
The teams would trade field goals on their next two drives. They would each then add another. McPherson nailed a 58 yarder to make the score 9-6.
Later on, after Jake Browning botched the snap, the Cardinals would end up with the ball deep in Cincinnati territory. It took them only three plays to find the endzone after starting on the 21. Ward was the one who punched it in from a yard out, making it 16-6. McPherson then hit a 56 yarder before Ward would add another 1 yard TD to make it 23-9. It remained this way at the half.
The Bengals went three and out to start the 2nd half. A big return then set the Cardinals up at the Bengals 25 yard line. The five play drive ended with a 5 yard TD from Guarantano to Kirkland. Prater’s 2nd missed extra point of the game left the score at 29-9. Guarantano would then pick apart the Bengals defence on the next drive. A 1 yard Ingram TD run made the score 36-9.
Cincinnati’s offence would finally get going in the 4th quarter. Jake Browning was able to find a wide open Jacques Patrick for a 31 yard gain. The drive ended with Patrick plunging it in from a yard out. He accounted for 45 of the team’s 53 yards on the drive. His score made it 36-16.
On the team’s final drive, Drew Plitt entered at QB. After a few solid runs by Patrick, Plitt found Kendric Pryor deep for 30 yards. It was an impressive one handed catch that had to be reviewed. A handful of plays later, Pltt reconnected with Pryor for a 25 yard TD down the right sideline. Plitt went 6/6 for 76 yards and a TD. His TD pass made the score 36-23, which is how the game ended.
The Bengals will fly to New York to take on the Giants next week. It will be their 2nd of three preseason games.
Modified Homescreen Image Via: All-Pro Reels (CC)