W2L4: Critical Chance For Back-ups (Kris Jenkins Jr., Josh Newton, Dohnte Meyers, Mitch Tinsley, Swayze Bozeman) To Make Case As Bengals Take On Bears

Bears (1-0, Beat Browns, 34-10) at Bengals (1-0, Beat Lions 16-14), Saturday, Aug. 22 at Paycor Stadium 7 p.m. ET, TV: Bengals Preseason Network FOX 19, WXIX-TV (Cincinnati) Mike Watts, Anthony Munoz, Joe Danneman. Radio: Dan Hoard, Dave Lapham, Tony Pike. WEBN-FM (102.7 FM), ESPN1530

CINCINNATI – The back-ups take center stage this Saturday as they get their chance to show what they can do under the spotlight.

From Josh Newton battling Ja’Sir Taylor and Bralyn Lux in the secondary, to Swayze Bozeman competing with Joe Giles-Harris and Shaka Heyward, to Kris Jenkins Jr. building his stock against McKinnley Jackson, Landon Robinson and Howard Cross III, this Saturday offers some intriguing battles to keep an eye on.

Zac Taylor announced before Thursday’s joint practice that the starters and regulars will not play in the second preseason contest against Chicago. The next meaningful snaps for Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Chase Brown, Dexter Lawrence II, etc. will come in Week 1 against Tampa Bay.

That doesn’t mean this game isn’t important. The Bengals, like every team with legitimate Super Bowl aspirations, have to make sure their depth is of the highest quality and dependability as possible. Keep a close eye on the offensive line, especially at tackle, where there is a serious competition for a possible fourth tackle spot behind Orlando Brown Jr., Amarius Mims and Cody Ford.

Setting the scene: The Bengals aim to start the preseason 2-0 when they take on the Chicago Bears at Paycor Stadium on Saturday night. Cincinnati is coming off a 16-14 victory over Detroit in the preseason opener on Aug. 13. The Bengals benefited from several key plays throughout the night, including two takeaways, a three-for-three field goal performance by Evan McPherson, and four offensive plays of 15 or more yards. However, as is the case with any debut showing in the preseason, each phase of the game illustrated areas to improve over the next month.

“Preseason game one, there’s always going to be some things to clean up operationally,” said head coach Zac Taylor. “I think on offense, that’s the main
takeaway is operationally, we weren’t great. I’m not going to lower our standard just because it was a preseason game, but sometimes when you’re changing up
personnel constantly, those things can happen. I’d like us to be cleaner this week, and I expect us to be. But I thought the guys played hard. They competed.
A lot of guys got opportunity. We put a lot of guys out there and found a way to win the game.”

Most of Cincinnati’s projected starters took the first snaps of the game, including Joe Burrow, who played the initial two offensive series and completed five of six passes for 39 yards. While the remainder of the contest dedicated itself to the coaching staff getting a chance to evaluate depth pieces, Burrow and the first-team offense took advantage of their limited play time to further build rapport in the setting of a game.

“Getting some reps of real, game-like operation is certainly beneficial,” said Burrow. “Getting the play in, getting the subs in, being down in the clock,
knowing when to send the motions — that’s beneficial.”

Among the team’s top performers in the win was wide receiver Dohnte Meyers, a former Canadian Football League standout who led the way with 42 scrimmage
yards in his first appearance in Bengals stripes. Rookie tight end Jack Endries, a seventh-round draft pick this past April, scored the Bengals’ lone TD of the night on a four-yard catch in the second quarter.

Defensively, third-year defensive tackle Kris Jenkins Jr. had five tackles with a sack, and safety Russ Yeast closed out the victory with an INT in the final minute of regulation.

The Bengals follow up Saturday’s contest with their preseason finale on Friday, Aug. 28 at Philadelphia.

The series: Though they are relatively close geographical neighbors, the Bengals and Bears have played infrequently, with the Bears leading their
all-time regular-season series, 7-6. While the Bears own just a one-game lead overall in regular season, they have won the last four regular-season meetings, including last season’s 47-42 victory at Paycor Stadium. Home-field advantage has not been a factor in the regular-season series — the Bengals lead 4-3 at Chicago and the Bears lead 4-2 at Cincinnati.

In the preseason series, however, home-field advantage has played a role. The Bengals lead the preseason series 7-4 overall, and they are undefeated
(5-0) against the Bears in preseason games played at Cincinnati. In preseason games at Chicago, the Bears lead 4-2. The teams last played in preseason in 2024 at Soldier Field, with the Bears winning 27-3.

Here’s what to look for:

When the Bengals have the ball:

Joe Flacco, Josh Johnson, Sean Clifford:
How many snaps and series will the Bengals use Flacco? They presumably want to get their second and third-team receivers and backs some reps running the offense with Flacco and these almost certainly will be the last reps for Flacco for a while.

Receiving corps:
Andrei Iosivas and Colbie Young appear locked into the third and fourth spots, meaning it’s Charlie Jones, Ke’Shawn Williams, Dohnte Meyers, Mitchell Tinsley and Noah Thomas for two spots, assuming the Bengals protect six receivers on the final roster. Keep an eye on Meyers in the return game Saturday. Could be a separating factor in his favor if he does well.

Offensive line:
Jacob Bayer showed very well in the preseason opener against the Lions. With Connor Lew and Brian Parker II accounting for two spots, Bayer might be up against a numbers game. But if the Bengals decide to protect 10, Bayer could definitely make a case for that final spot. Jalen Rivers could use a strong performance.

Running backs/Tight ends:
Chase Brown has been the star of the offense so far in camp. He looks explosive and is expected to give a new dimension to this offense in 2026.

When the Bears have the ball:

Defensive line: The battle to watch here is on the back end, where Kris Jenkins Jr., McKinnley Jackson, Landon Robinson, Howard Cross III are all battling for the fifth and sixth DT spots behind Lawrence, TJ Slaton, Jonathan Allen, BJ Hill. Jenkins was a beast against the Lions and another effort like that could either solidify his spot or boost his stock for a potential trade that could bring the Bengals back something like a linebacker or offensive line depth.

Linebackers: Swayze Bozeman is the player to watch here. Had a very solid performance in the first half against the Lions and another could convince the Bengals that they have something in 2024 undrafted linebacker out of Southern Miss. He’s up against Joe Giles-Harris, Oren Burks and Shaka Heyward.

Defensive backs: The battle here is between Ja’Sir Taylor and Bralyn Lux for the nickel corner spot behind Jalen Davis. With DJ Ivey presumably with a spot locked up as a core special teamer, keep close tabs on Josh Newton. The third-year corner and new father (last week he welcomed Legend Zaire Newton) has had a very good week in practice and the joint practice. He’s essentially battling Ja’Sir Taylor and Bralyn Lux for the sixth and final corner spot in the secondary. Russ Yeast battles PJ Jules and Daijahn Anthony for the final safety spot behind Bryan Cook, Jordan Battle and Kyle Dugger.

Evan McPherson The Bengals kicker was perfect last week, including a 56-yarder, going 3-for-3. He’s been one of the most consistent players in camp.

Bottom Line:

Bengals second and third-stringers get a chance at significant playing time, with several depth positions up for grabs. Good chance for Dohnte Meyers, Swayze Bozeman and Russ Yeast. Can the Bengals run the ball effectively in a game where they look at what they have in terms of offensive line depth?

Bengals 18, Bears 17