The Bengals opened preseason play with a 16-14 win over the Lions at Paycor Stadium on Thursday night, and the night belonged most to the players who don’t usually get the loudest spotlight. Joe Burrow was out there.
So was Dexter Lawrence. But Cincinnati’s edge came from a roster deeper down the depth chart, where a handful of younger names made themselves impossible to ignore.
That showed up fast. The rookie class made an early imprint, with Cashius Howell flashing on the pass rush and recovering a fumble, Landon Robinson winning cleanly off the edge, and Colbie Young stacking up two catches for 28 yards.
Young’s biggest moment came on a 20-yard grab from Joe Flacco on third-and-16. Then Jack Endries cashed in the opening-drive momentum with a 4-yard touchdown catch from Flacco that pushed the Bengals ahead 10-0.
The kicking game also looked ready for regular-season pressure. Evan McPherson kept his perfect training camp rolling by drilling field goals from 56, 33 and 41 yards.
The 56-yarder set the tone early, and it fit right in with the 65-yard kick he knocked through during last Friday’s stadium practice. He was already ranked 13th in FanSided’s fresh NFL kicker rankings, and this kind of night won’t do anything but boost his stock.
There was plenty for Cincinnati to like, but not everything clicked cleanly. The under-center wrinkle the Bengals are working into the offense still looked like a work in progress, especially when compared with the shotgun looks Burrow operated out of.
The bigger point, though, is that this appears to be a feature being layered in rather than a full-blown identity shift. The Bengals still want Burrow in the gun, where the offense has been at its best.
Chase Brown’s usage also stood out, with five carries for 16 yards. The hope there is for more creative ways to get him involved once the Bengals are in situations where they can manage the clock and protect a lead.
One of the rougher moments came when Orlando Brown Jr. got beaten badly by undrafted rookie Eric O'Neill, who had 2.5 sacks at Rutgers last year. The pressure came on a key third down, and Burrow took a hit after getting the ball out incomplete to Mike Gesicki.
It was the kind of preseason collision nobody wants to see, especially with Burrow in the game at all. The reaction around the league made that clear, but Cincinnati’s approach under Zac Taylor has long been about getting the offense reps early, even if the first unit is on the field.
There was also a meaningful takeaway for Jordan Battle, whose interception gave the Bengals an early lift. The play came after Lions receiver Isaac TeSlaa had a pass deflect off his hands and into Battle’s arms.
DJ Turner helped force the turnover with tight coverage on TeSlaa, and Battle looked like a player ready to keep building on the four interceptions he had in 2025. He’s in the final year of his rookie deal, and nights like this only strengthen his case.
The Bengals leave Week 1 at 1-0, with a lot of encouraging tape from the rookies, a kicker in rhythm, and a few reminders of what still needs cleaning up before the games start counting.
In Other News...
Bengals Passed On One EDGE And The Debate Just Got Louder
The 2025 draft has already become a talking point for Cincinnati because of the different paths taken by two edge rushers who were on the board at the same time. Atlanta went with James Pearce Jr., while the Bengals chose Shemar Stewart, and the comparison has only sharpened as both franchises wait for those decisions to play out on the field. For Cincinnati, the appeal was obvious at the time: a young defender with big traits who could grow into a long-term piece up front.
The problem is that the early returns have not brought much clarity. Stewart has not yet matched the kind of impact the Bengals were hoping for, and his current injury only adds another layer to a pick that is still being judged. Pearce, meanwhile, is now creating a different kind of headache for Atlanta, which is why the debate over which team handled the draft slot better is only getting louder. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals Depth Battle Already Produced Some Early Standouts
The Bengals preseason opener against the Lions was less about the headline names and more about the players trying to force their way into the conversation. With Joe Burrow and other starters seeing limited work, Cincinnati leaned on a mix of new defensive additions and young depth pieces in a 16-14 win that offered an early look at how the back end of the roster might begin to take shape.
Dexter Lawrence and Jonathan Allen drew plenty of attention as part of the defenses new look, but the more immediate intrigue came from the turnover swings and timely snaps made by players battling for jobs. In August, those are the kinds of moments that matter most, and the Bengals already have a few standouts making the case that this competition could get interesting well before cutdown day. [Read more 🡒]
Swayze Bozeman Is Suddenly Pressuring One Thin Bengals Position Group
Swayze Bozeman has spent the Bengals preseason making himself harder to ignore, and that matters in a linebacker room that could use another steady body. The undrafted defender, who was claimed off waivers in May after previous stops with the Chiefs, Bears and Giants, has flashed the kind of athleticism teams tend to chase when they are sorting through the bottom of the roster. He has been working with the second-team defense and generally looks like a player who has forced the staff to keep looking.
For Cincinnati, the appeal is obvious because the path is there if he keeps stacking useful snaps. Bozemans early work has put real pressure on a thin position group, and the Bengals will have to decide whether his preseason momentum is enough to carry him into roster discussions when cuts arrive. There is still a lot to sort out, but he has done enough already to make the conversation more interesting than expected. [Read more 🡒]