Bengals: 5 positives, 2 negatives from Week 1 of preseason

The Cincinnati Bengals finished their first preseason game this weekend against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. There are some concerns, but overall a lot to be happy about for Zac Taylor and company.

The preseason is a time where regular starters can shake of the dust and get a series or two of live football, the backups can get a chunk of plays to help improve and show they are capable of playing meaningful snaps, and the fringe roster players to make a difference and prove why they belong on the final roster.

All of that happened on Saturday when the Cincinnati Bengals played the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Cincinnati was conservative in their playcalling, not trying to wow Tampa Bay, but seeing the game as an opportunity to see what they have in their young talent. There were some surprises for fans being able to watch this team for the first time and try and piece together an idea of what the season has in store.

Overall this was a solid outing for the Bengals. Trying to show that they can play above expectations this year, Cincinnati was able to show flashes of promise on both offense and defense.

Let’s start with the positives.