Lions (9-8, 4th NFC North in 2025) at Bengals (6-11, 3rd AFC North in 2025), Thursday, Aug. 13 at Paycor Stadium 7 p.m. ET, TV: Bengals Preseason Network FOX 19, WXIX-TV (Cincinnati) Mike Watts, Anthony Munoz. Radio: Dan Hoard, Dave Lapham. WEBN-FM (102.7 FM), ESPN1530
CINCINNATI – Time for the games to begin.
There’s plenty to watch for in the 2026 preseason debut that just so happens to come against the high-powered Detroit Lions at Paycor.
How does the revamped defense under defensive coordinator Al Golden look? How smooth will the communication be between players on the field and between Golden the signal caller and his players? What does Joe Burrow look like not having to deal with Dexter Lawrence II and Jonathan Allen constantly in his face.
How about the rookies?
Cashius Howell has been effective subbing in for Boye Mafe at the edge. Bobo Davis has made plays at outside corner. Neither dressed for the final practice. Connor Lew will not play but Brian Parker II will on the interior line. Wide receiver Colbie Young should get some significant reps in the first half. Tight end Jack Endries and defensive tackle Landon Robinson are expected to see a good amount of playing time as well. The second half is usually reserved for those undrafted free agents who are trying to make a mark on special teams or on the second and third-team units.
“We’ll see. We’ll make some decisions on some guys. Good amount of the starters will play, but I’m not there yet on everybody,” head coach Zac Taylor said. “I know Joe (Burrow) will play, Ja’Marr (Chase) and Tee (Higgins)… Limited series. So it won’t be a ton of time, but for our fans to come out there, they’re going to see Joe and Ja’Marr and Tee, they’re going to see Dexter. So, they’ll get a chance to enjoy some of our players there, but how long I keep him out there remains to be seen.”
Last year, in the preseason opener in Philadelphia, Joe Burrow engineered scoring drives on the first two series and then came out of the game. Taylor would certainly take a repeat of that.
“Yeah, that’d be ideal. But again, I’m not going to put a number on it yet and we’ll just kind of feel it out and see where it goes,” Taylor said.
Dax Hill, Bryan Cook, Erick All Jr. and rookie Connor Lew will not play. BJ Hill is still on PUP and Shemar Stewart is getting his hyperextended left knee healed.
Cincinnati’s efforts to build a contending roster during the offseason were highlighted by several noteworthy moves, which included the retaining of key players, the addition of prominent free agents and the hiring of six new assistant coaches. After posting a 6-11 record and finishing on the outside of the AFC playoffs for a third straight season in 2025, each decision the team made since January has been with the stated goal of returning to the upper echelon of the NFL.
For the first time in the Joe Burrow era, the defense might have as much of an impact on games as the high-powered, highly-skilled offense.
Cincinnati heads into the 2026 campaign with elevated expectations after an aggressive offseason which saw the front office infuse a blend of talent and experience into the roster. The team utilized every resource at its disposal for acquiring new pieces, including free agency, a headline trade and the NFL Draft.
Each addition was crafted with the goal of cultivating a roster that can return the Bengals to contention for the franchise’s first Super Bowl title.
“We had a lot of really good opportunities come to us this year,” said Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin. “What the personnel department and ownership did is respond and make those opportunities realities.
“We’ve had a lot of rosters over the years I’ve been here. I feel really good about this roster. I think we’ve got a lot of pieces that have been proven, productive NFL players either here or elsewhere. The group has to come together… From what I’ve seen so far, this is a motivated group that is hungry to show what they can do.”
Following the contest against Detroit, Cincinnati will host Chicago in a joint practice on Aug. 20 and then play the Bears two days later at Paycor Stadium. The Bengals close out the preseason on the road against Philadelphia on Aug. 28, just over two weeks ahead of their regular-season opener against Tampa Bay on Sunday, Sept. 13.
The series: This week’s game is the 38th edition of the Bengals’ most-played preseason series. The Bengals lead the preseason series, but it’s close — very close. Cincinnati is ahead by only one game overall 19-18, and the preseason series is also tied (9-9) with the Bengals as the home team. The Bengals won the most recent preseason meeting 30-14 in 2016 at Detroit, and that game broke a three-game Lions winning streak.
Though the teams have played 37 times in preseason previously, this contest will mark the first Bengals-Lions preseason matchup of head coach Zac Taylor’s Bengals career. The Bengals and Lions met every year in preseason from 1970-2001, but this week’s game is just their sixth preseason meeting since ’02.
The teams have met 14 times in the regular season, and Cincinnati’s 10-4 record works out to the best winning percentage (.714) for the Bengals against any NFL foe. Cincinnati has won 10 of the most recent 12 meetings with Detroit when playing for keeps, after the Lions began the series 2-0. The Bengals and Lions will not play in the 2026 regular season.
Without further ado, for the first time in 2026:
Here’s what to look for:
Joe Burrow:
The quarterback has faced a lot more pressure up the middle than the last couple of preseasons. Could this preseason opener be a bit of a reprieve like it was last year in Philadelphia? Bigger question is how much playing time does Joe Flacco get as the backup and how much do they want to expose the most valuable backup on the roster? One productive series could be enough, especially with joint practice next week with the Bears on tap next week.
Receiving corps:
The deepest part of the roster features Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and now, established third receiver Andrei Iosivas. Yoshi does have significant competition for third receiver reps with rookie Colbie Young flashing with several nice plays in camp. Then there’s Charlie Jones, Mitchell Tinsley, Dohnte Meyers and Kendric Pryor.
Interior offensive line:
Watch how Brian Parker II does. He will be getting a lot of playing time with the second team throughout camp and the preseason. He could move all around. The key for the first unit is to keep all five healthy and ready for the regular season. Cody Ford has the third tackle job locked down and will be the starting left tackle on the second team. Look for Jacob Bayer to get second-team center reps. He is highly regarded and someone who could earn some valuable trust from the coaching staff with a solid preseason.
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.
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.
Linebackers: Season No. 2 for Barrett Carter and Demetrius Knight Jr. is a time to prove they both can adapt to the NFL and have learned their lessons from their rookie seasons.
Defensive backs: The battle here is between Ja’Sir Taylor and Bralyn Lux for the nickel corner spot behind Jalen Davis and DJ Ivey competing with Josh Newton for an outside corner spot with rookie Bobo Davis locked into the depth chart behind DJ Turner and Dax Hill. At safety, Kyle Dugger will get the start for Bryan Cook and he is the presumed third safety behind Cook and Jordan Battle. The battle for the fourth safety spot is between PJ Jules and Daijahn Anthony.
Evan McPherson The Bengals kicker hasn’t missed in camp and hit a 65-yarder last week to end the in-stadium camp practice. He looks primed for another solid season after a good bounce-back campaign in 2025.
Bengals first team offense has a point to prove in its first chance against another team. Bengals first team defense, especially defensive line, has had its way at times and this is a chance for Burrow and company to find some rhythm like last year in Philly. Objective for the defense is to get some good reps against a high-powered Lions offense and get through it clean and healthy.
Bengals 23, Lions 19
