CINCINNATI — With the first preseason game in the books, it’s time to look more closely at what transpired and where the Bengals will be looking to make improvements.
First, Joe Burrow did everything except take a hit. He completed 5-of-7 passes for 51 yards, including a 10-yard TD pass to Tee Higgins. Will it be the only preseason action he sees this summer? Will his reps in joint practices this Thursday and next Tuesday against the Colts be enough?
“I wouldn’t mind getting hit before the first game. We’ll see,” Burrow said. “We’ll see. That’s a Zac question there. He’ll make that decision. We’ll see where that goes.”
As for how he felt, Burrow offered a very short and sweet answer.
“Feel good. Good to be back out there,” Burrow said. “It was good to be back out there with the guys. Nice to get some reps in the game that didn’t count towards our record. Still some work to do. It’s nice to get back out there.”
The work to be done is just to play longer and perhaps take a hit on the wrist to make sure it’s game worthy. The best throw of the night was not completed. It was a post pattern to Tee Higgins in the end zone.
Joe Burrow keeps it short and sweet Saturday “It was nice to be back on the field” pic.twitter.com/gFuLYQwSb5
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) August 11, 2024
Burrow said he “felt good about all” of his throws Saturday, including the deep ball to Higgins on the post in double coverage.
“Get out there with your team. Get the feel of getting out there again. Get the feel of playing a game again,” Burrow said. “Getting to play against the clock. Getting to play against the defense. Getting hit again at some point though I didn’t get hit today, which is a good thing.
“Yeah, it was a good performance.”
The next meaningful performance comes Thursday in Lake Forest, Ill. as the Bengals battle the Bears in joint practice prior to next Saturday’s preseason game.
It’s likely that Burrow doesn’t play next next Saturday but that’s to be determined.
Mims played 15 snaps and looked the part of a first-round offensive tackle of the future. There was only one pressure on his side and that came on a linebacker blitz that beat tight end Drew Sample and forced a kill switch from Joe Burrow.
The Bengals got blown out on the Tampa Bay run up the middle that tied the game, 7-7. Kris Jenkins Jr. and Zach Carter got wiped out on the Bucky Irving TD run. Also, on the play, Akeem Davis-Gaither guessed wrong on the gap, leaving little resistance for Irving.
Fans were hoping to see a lot more from Jermaine Burton in the first half. He didn’t play at all in the opening half. He said he got cold like he was waiting for a photo shoot. Burton followed up his 37-yard TD catch from Logan Woodside with a 38-yarder for a first down on a drive that could’ve won the game but Woodside was stopped short on a fourth-down run.
The rookie corner out of TCU said he felt comfortable thanks to the veterans in the secondary, who gave him advice and pointers on and off the field.
Josh Newton says the vets on Bengals D and fans energy made him feel at home, highlighted by an interception pic.twitter.com/3JplWZSF8L
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) August 11, 2024
Dax Hill gave up a 28-yard pass to Rakim Jarrett when he couldn’t get his head turned around. He also had a nice red zone pass breakup that almost resulted in an interception. DJ Turner had a pair of passes defended. He was also beaten over the middle for 18 yards when he was trailing Jalen McMillan on a crosser.
Zac Taylor said Dax Hill was around the ball a lot tonight. Dax Hill says there are learning points he can apply. pic.twitter.com/Bo8eQ8aGKs
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) August 11, 2024
With Dan Pitcher and passing game coordinator Justin Rascati up in the booth, Zac Taylor got a chance to work on end of the half scenarios.
“The end of the first half, I would have loved to steal another five yards,” Taylor said of the game management prior to Evan McPherson’s 58-yard miss wide right. “You’re in regular season mode with your starters and the things you’ve worked on. I think in the regular season, I probably would have banged a time out with eight seconds there and try to steal five (yards) on the sidelines instead of kicking a 58-yarder. We’ve put Evan (MacPherson) in a lot of really tough spots and expect him to come through for us, but that’s a long field goal there.
“There’s some situational stuff that’s good for me to refresh myself on. I’m getting good feedback. It was good that stuff happened at the end of the first half. It could have happened at the end of the second half. I had to manage the time outs in the second half. I know it’s a preseason game, but we also want to win, so there was a time where we would have been more aggressive as they had the ball to keep time on the clock for us to go win it in two-minute. So, it was good for all of us, players and coaches.”
