It's been seven months, but Bengals fans finally got their first taste of football last Thursday in a 34-27 loss to the Eagles. The game gave the Cincy faithful a look at the first-team offense and defense, as well as a lot of rookies and young players that, while they may not start, could see a fair share of opportunities this season.
There were a lot of players who had strong debuts in stripes, notably Shemar Stewart, Dylan Fairchild, and free agency addition Oren Burks. A lot to like, but an equal amount to be concerned about, too. While the offense seemed to pick up right where it left off, the defense, unfortunately, also picked up right where it left off.
Granted, it was Al Golden's first game as defensive coordinator, and on top of that, they were missing a handful of starters (most notably, Trey Hendrickson), so hopefully it isn't a sign of things to come.
On the topic of concerns, here are a few players who under-performed in the preseason opener, and will be looking to improve on Monday night vs. Washington.
All stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference.
Myles Murphy
The Eagles game just reinforced the idea that the Bengals need to do anything they can to get Trey Hendrickson back in stripes, because 3rd year defensive end Myles Murphy was completely uninspiring. Against backup offensive tackles.
Since being drafted in the first round in 2023, Murphy's NFL career has gotten off to a disappointing start. It's not all on his shoulders, as he should've gotten more opportunities from the coaching staff with Sam Hubbard playing injured and clearly losing a step. Nonetheless, he hasn't impressed when he has seen the field. He recorded three sacks in a limited rookie year, and then in 2024, playing a higher percentage of snaps (40%), he recorded more pressures, but zero sacks.
The athleticism and physical gifts are there. Murphy just can't seem to capitalize on them, and that sentiment was reinforced in Philadelphia. He wasn't able to generate any pressure against a backup offensive line. If the former first-round pick doesn't show more against the Commanders, he could very well slide down the depth chart in favor of this year's first-round pick, Shemar Stewart.
Let's hope that Murphy at least gets the opportunity to redeem himself, because he did get injured in Tuesday's practice and didn't participate on Wednesday.
Lucas Patrick
The answer to, "what was the Bengals' biggest weakness in 2024?" might vary depending on who you ask, but if you polled 100 Cincinnati fans, half of them would probably say the guards.
Cordell Volson was one of the worst pass-blocking guards in the league last season, and Alex Cappa was somehow even worse, earning the offensive line Triple Crown for allowing the most sacks, pressures, and hurries.
#Bengals OG Alex Cappa won the Anti-Triple Crown by having the Worst Lineman Season.
— WINCINNATI (@WINCINNATI_) January 8, 2025
He was 1st in Sacks Allowed, Pressures Allowed, and Hurries Allowed... 👑💩 #OhMyGuard pic.twitter.com/oyr1HWRttM
That being said, it was imperative that the front office address the position if they wanted any shot at keeping Burrow upright. They seemed to do that well on one side, drafting Dylan Fairchild out of Georgia in the third round, and he had a near-flawless debut against Philly.
At right guard? Far less promising.
The competition was between Cody Ford, who was a swing tackle who played significant snaps for Cincinnati last year due to injuries on the O-Line, and free-agent acquisition Lucas Patrick. While he was no Brandon Schreff or Dalton Risner like most fans were pleading for, he couldn't be worse than Alex Cappa, right?
Well, he might not be, but that doesn't mean he's good. At least he didn't look good against the Eagles' backups. Patrick had the lowest pass block grade of any Bengal on the offensive line, according to PFF, with an abysmal 37.1, and was routinely getting beaten by Eagles' Gabe Hall. If Patrick continues to struggle, then he could lose the starting job to Ford (not that he was much better against Philly).
Ideally, if he continues to struggle like this over the next two weeks, the front office will go out and sign someone else rather than leaving the competition between Cody Ford and Lucas Patrick.
DJ Ivey
After a rough preseason opener, many are predicting DJ Ivey will be on the outside looking in for the cornerback room, including Stripe Hype's own Matt Fitzgerald, even going far as to project that Texas Tech UDFA Bralyn Lux will make the team over him. And if the front office goes out and signs a veteran cornerback (like Stephon Gilmore, Kendall Fuller, or Asante Samuel Jr.)? Well then, DJ Ivey can pretty much kiss his spot on the team goodbye.
Ivey struggled mightily against the Eagles, looking slow and sluggish. The biggest lowlight of the night was getting beaten by Tarleton State UDFA Darius Cooper for a 21-yard touchdown. The secondary as a whole really struggled against Tanner McKee and the rest of the Eagles' second-team offense, but DJ Ivey looked the worst, alongside 2024 fifth-round pick Josh Newton.
To be fair to Ivey, he was a seventh-round selection, so the fact he was able to stay on the team for two years is still impressive. However, his time in stripes might be coming to an end, especially if he doesn't look much better against Washington.
Hopefully, these players show more promise against Washington. If they don't, then the Bengals might be looking to make some late additions to the team over the next couple of weeks.