Bengals: 4 things we learned in Week 1 of preseason

Bengals will likely have a week focused on not making mistakes

Despite ending in a victory, this was an ugly game.

Seven turnovers in one game are the epitome of preseason football, but it is something that the Bengals coaching staff will want to address. Interceptions thrown by a backup quarterback are to be expected, but a concerning area is the fumbles.

I would bet the running backs are going to get extra work on securing the ball through contact to make sure they aren’t giving up turnovers (especially in key areas of the field). This team has a lot of potential, but not the proven players who can make up for losing the turnover battle.

The other area of focus after the first week of the preseason will be in limiting the number of penalties. While Cincinnati only committed seven penalties over the course of the game, those are yards that can end up hurting the team.

The Bengals could surprise some people with their play this year, but they can’t afford to beat themselves. Helping the new players get used to each other is a big reason for the preseason, and now those players have a taste for what they can and cannot do.

I would expect an improvement in this department in their next game.