Cincinnati Bengals Preseason – 3 things to watch
1. How long will Zac Taylor play the starters?
Usually, Week 3 of the preseason is when starters see the most first-team snaps during the game while sitting out or playing little in Week 4. With the shortened preseason, this week kind of serves as that Week 3 game, so Taylor has a decision to make on how many reps he will give the first team.
The offense reigns as the most important side of the ball the Bengals need reps at. We want to see this offensive line play at a high level and see Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Tyler Boyd look good as a trio. Last week each receiver caught one ball before exiting the game so expect the targets to increase even if it’s a little bit in this game.
As much as we want to see Chris Evans, Darius Hodge, Thad Moss, and the rest of the sleepers on the roster, we want to see both the first-team offense and first-team defense look fluent and comfortable.
With some struggles here and there in camp, you’d like to see the starters put together a few nice possessions before Coach Taylor takes them out, especially if the anticipation is that they don’t play or play little in the final preseason matchup before the first regular-season game against the Vikings.