5 quick takeaways following Bengals’ preseason game vs Washington

The Cincinnati Bengals now have two preseason games in the books with their latest coming against the Washington Football Team. Let’s dive into five quick takeaways from preseason game No. 2.

1. Bengals offense looked flat

It’s only preseason and that’s the reason I won’t panic about the Bengals’ lackluster offense and why you shouldn’t panic either. Another thing to keep in mind with this group is that Joe Burrow isn’t playing in the preseason, or at least he hasn’t yet. Brandon Allen got the start for the Bengals in this one and the offense operated like a unit that was without its starting quarterback.

Allen didn’t play well in the first half but did manage a promising drive to kick off the second half that ended with him sneaking in for a touchdown to put the Bengals up 10-6 in the third quarter.

2. First-team D was explosive

It’s not common for Bengals fans to be drooling over the pass rush but they looked really good on Friday night despite only playing three series. They made the most of those series, though, allowing just two first downs while notching one sack and one takeaway.

This is exactly what Bengals fans wanted to see from their defense and the new additions were in full force during Friday’s game. Trey Hendrickson got after Ryan Fitzpatrick, Larry Ogunjobi had a nice run stuff on fourth and 1, and Chidobe Awuzie had nice coverage while he was in the game.

The Bengals signed these guys in free agency hoping they’d make a major difference and so far, they have done just that.

3. Ja’Marr Chase had a rough night

The Bengal who disappointed the most on Friday had to be first-round rookie Ja’Marr Chase, who had three balls thrown his way and failed to haul in any of them. Drops have been a concern for Chase throughout training camp and that was once again the case in this game.

Chase opted out of the 2020 college football season so it’s natural for there to be some rust for the LSU wideout. He’s been out of football for over a year so it’s going to take him some time to get back to that 2019 version that made him a top-five pick in this year’s draft.

It’s only preseason and that’s where these mistakes need to be made. Chase is going to be better than what he’s shown so far, so this isn’t cause for panic… at least not yet.

4. Jackson Carman “playing nasty”

It hasn’t been the fairy tale start for Jackson Carman after the Bengals took him in the second round of this year’s draft. He’s struggled to make a positive impression and was demoted to third-string on the team’s first depth chart.

Carman took reps with the 2’s during Friday’s game and redeemed himself. Jake Liscow even went as far to say that the second-round rookie was “playing nasty”. This is a huge win for Carman and it couldn’t have come at a better time for the Clemson product.

The guy we saw pancaking players on Friday night is the player the Bengals thought they were getting when they spent a second-round pick on him. Hopefully, this is the start of something new for Carman.

5. Kicker battle is over

Bengals fans are scarred after the Jake Elliott debacle a few years back but it doesn’t look like Evan McPherson is going to give us those same nightmares. McPherson has been electric so far and he’s essentially put an end to the kicker battle between him and veteran Austin Seibert.

McPherson’s 50-yard field goal in the fourth quarter was an absolute beaut and really did put a nail in Seibert’s coffin. The rookie out of Florida is going to win the kicker job barring something unusual.

There’s one preseason game remaining for the Bengals and it’ll take place next Sunday afternoon. What observations did you have from this matchup against Washington?