CINCINNATI — While the Bengals completed their fourth winless preseason in franchise history Thursday night, there were some notable accomplishments and boxes checked during the three-week session.
Charlie Jones returned to game action, emerging as a real weapon in both the kick return and punt return game.
The Bengals already knew that Jones could return punts. But what he showed on the opening kickoff Thursday was a vision and burst that could help the Bengals immediately improve field position on drives. He had a 48-yard return to put the Bengals in business at the plus-48. Jones was on the field because he missed both the Tampa Bay and Chicago games due to a bruised right knee suffered on Aug. 8 in practice. Needless to say it was encouraging for Jones’ peace of mind to be back on the field in game action.
“So good. The blocking was great. It was a good call. It was my first play out there, so obviously I was excited,” Jones said. “And it was a good start for me confidence-wise, and good momentum going in the season.”
“I definitely wanted to get my feet wet and be out there going into Week 1 with a couple of snaps under my belt.”
It was clear, early on, that Jones’ timing and instincts didn’t leave him despite spending two weeks on the sideline. But still, to get on the field and execute gives him confidence once the season starts Sept. 8 against the Patriots.
“It was my first time really doing it live. So, I think I knew it was going to be a good call, and I knew that if the guys were doing what they’re supposed to, which they were and they always do it … I always have confidence in them. I saw the lane pretty quickly and just knew that this play was such a fast-hitting play that I couldn’t slow down through the lane,” Jones told me. “Great blocking. Hopefully we continue to have plays like that.”
Jones returned a punt 81 yards against the Ravens in Week 2 last season for a touchdown.
Battle, the second-year safety out of Alabama, is learning his timing. Last year, it was about learning the play calls and how defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo wants his defense to look and feel. In his second year, Battle is more familiar with the nuance and that paid off in a pick-6 in the first quarter against Colts starting quarterback Anthony Richardson.
“Really, it was all just the disguise,” Battle said. “Coach Lou harps on us every week about our disguises as safeties. Just being able to show two high and then drop down and receive an early birthday gift like that — you’ve got to take advantage.”
Jordan Battle is growing up fast in second year with Bengals. pic.twitter.com/9ok7BbdFJK
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) August 23, 2024
It was Battle’s first pick-6 in a game since 2021 with Alabama when he had two of his three career interception returns for scores at Alabama.
“For sure,” Battle said. “(It’s fun against) anybody, really. It was a good feeling. I haven’t had a pick-6 in a while.”
The common theme with all of the young defensive backs in the Bengals secondary has been improving communication. It’s no different with Battle.
“Really, just trying to work on communication,” Battle told me. “I feel I’ve gotten a lot better communication-wise, just getting everybody on the defense on the same page and being able to be comfortable and make plays just like that.”
Better communication on the field leads to faster play. And that’s the goal of any defensive player.
“That’s all tied in with knowing the playbook and being able to be comfortable out there and play fast,” Battle added. “I feel like that’s an area I did improve on this preseason. (I’m) still trying to grow.”
Myles Murphy is “week to week” with a knee injury:
Murphy left Tuesday’s joint practice sitting in the front seat of a cart and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks with a knee sprain, according to James Rapien of Bengalstalk.com.
“Right now we’ll just take it week to week and see where we are closer to the season,” Taylor said.
Winless preseason still had a point:
“I think we got to see a lot of our depth. Obviously, we don’t play a lot of our starters, but it’s a really good experience for the guys that we’re going to be counting on at different parts of this season. Obviously, we want to win. Going 0-3 is not what we wanted, but I still think we get a lot out of it. It was good for those guys to maximize their opportunity and playing time, so it’s really good work for the depth of our team.”
One of the biggest positives from training camp was the development of rookie tight end Erick All Jr.:
All caught one pass for 10 yards Thursday and played 21 of 44 offensive snaps and six special teams snaps.
“I think he’s progressed every day. In that position, you have to get a bunch of reps, you have to make a bunch of mistakes, you have to see a bunch of things. He’s intent on improving every day. You guys know how I feel about James Casey — he does a great job developing those guys. So, we’ve given him a lot of opportunities. He’s very physical. He’s very willing. It’s important to him. I think that he has a very bright future for us.”
No announcement on starting corner between Dax Hill and DJ Turner:
“We need all of our depth right now, and with a couple guys banged up, we know we have a good football team. We’ve seen enough. We had a great practice against Indy. I feel like the team is in a good spot right now. There was still an opportunity for a lot of guys to play tonight. Some other ones, we have seen enough of to pull them back. We still got some work in this morning. Those guys that didn’t play still worked. Then, there were guys that were obviously dressed and played tonight.”
