The Bengals kicked off their 2024 preseason at home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The roster battles had been progressing in camp, but the preseason is where guys can really propel their stock. Or tank it. Word from the coaching staff earlier in the week was that we would see some starters, including Joe Burrow. We did end up seeing them, but for just one drive, which wasn’t a surprise.
As mentioned, Joe Burrow and the starters were out there for the opening drive. However, that did not include Ja’Marr Chase. Burrow was able to make due, finding Tee Higgins for 9 yards on the opening play, and then Trenton Irwin for 9 not long after. Zack Moss didn’t play, which left Chase Brown to handle the runs. He contributed on this drive, including a 1st down run. Later, on 3rd & 5, Burrow found Andrei Iosivas for a 23 yard catch and run, again moving the chains. After a defensive pass interference call kept the Bengals drive alive, Burrow found Tee Higgins a couple of plays later for a 10 yard TD. 7-0 Bengals.
Tampa Bay did not play their starters on offence, and the Bengals defence took care of business on their opening drive. After a 4 yard run by Irving. Kyle Trask threw two incompletions, and they punted the ball away.
After the Bengals later punted, the Bucs offence found themselves having more success against the Cincinnati second team defence. Trask started it off with a 24 yard completion to Miller, before finding McMillan for 19 yards just a couple of plays later. He kept the drive alive with a 21 yard pass to Palmer, which set the Bucs up at the Cincinnati 6 yard line. A couple of plays later, Irving ran it in for the 5 yard TD. 7-7.
Another Bengals punt sent the defence back on the field. This time, they had a bit more success. Trask was looking down the field, but his pass was picked off by the rookie, Josh Newton. It was his first career preseason interception. Unfortunately, it resulted in another Bengals punt. Both teams ended up going into the half with a missed field goal, and the score remained tied at 7.
The Buccaneers opened the second half with a scoring drive. Wolford, now in at QB, hit Miller for 12 yards, before Tucker was able to rip off a run of 26 yards. These chunk plays got them into Cincinnati territory, but the drive stalled, and resulted in a field goal. 10-7 Bucs.
The two teams continued to trade punts, with one drive mixed in where the Bengals defence was able to force a turnover on downs. Finally, later in the 4th quarter, the Bengals were able to get some more points on the board. The drive didn’t start out well, as Jackson Carman took a holding penalty. But Logan Woodside, who was now in at QB, got back a chunk of it on the next play. He found Hakeem Butler for 12 yards. Then, a dump off to Elijah Collins resulted in a 21 yard gain. An 8 yard completion to Cam Grandy further progressed the ball, and the drive was then capped with a 37 yard drop in the bucket down the sideline from Woodside to rookie Jermaine Burton. Burton finally saw the field later in the game, and he was impressive. Woodside also looked very good. 14-10 Bengals.
Unfortunately for the Bengals, despite taking a late lead, they could not close it out. Wolford completed his first 4 passes for 7, 18, 11, and 18 yards, respectively, which quickly brought the Bucs down the field. They did face a 4th & 12 situation on the Bengals 17 yard line, but a pass interference call on Lance Robinson gave them a new set of downs after the pass had fallen incomplete. On the next play, Jefferson ran it in from 3 yards out. This made the score 17-14 for the Buccaneers, which is how it ended.
The Bengals will head to Chicago next week to face the Bears in their second of three preseason games.
