3 winners and 2 losers from Bengals' preseason win over the Commanders

The Cincinnati Bengals' 31-17 preseason victory over the Washington Commanders wasn't without its uglier moments, but a win's a win, right? It looked pretty ugly for the Bengals' defense once again, but Joe Burrow and the offense were humming for the second straight exhibition outing.

Not all the winners and losers from Cincinnati's side were necessarily rolling with the starting units, though. One man in particular wasn't in uniform and still found a way to emerge as a big winner. Mild spoiler alert/unsubtle foreshadowing for what's to come.

Rather than dwelling too much on the negative, in the losers' sections, we'll try to look on the bright side. Until proven otherwise in a real-game scenario, I'll do my best to write off any failings as either preseason insignificance or silver linings for September.

Bengals' winners and losers after roller-coaster preseason win over Commanders

Winner: Mitchell Tinsley, WR

Obvious one here. Mitchell Tinsley balled out. Five catches for 73 yards and two scores in the last minute of the first half. All whilst being an honorary captain against the Commanders, who might regret letting him loose off their practice squad after such a monster performance.

Tinsley's gain could be argued as a big loss for Jermaine Burton, but the latter was a third-round pick just over a year ago. Doubt the Bengals will give up on him in favor of Tinsley. Instead, they're bound to keep six wide receivers on their 53-man roster, because Tinsley is absolutely deserving of a spot.

Some people are saying Tinsley could part of the solution to the Bengals' Trey Hendrickson contract spat based on a bit of crowdsourcing by yours truly. Last I saw, a 30.2% majority believe the trade scenario below would be a "done deal" for both sides. Don't stone the messenger.

Loser: Lucas Patrick, RG

As if the news of Dalton Risner's impending free-agent visit wasn't enough to make Lucas Patrick feel down in the dumps, he didn't do much on the field Monday night to improve his morale. Nor did he do much to fortify faith in him from the fans or Bengals organization alike.

Cincinnati coach Zac Taylor said after the game, via The Athletic's Paul Dehner Jr., that Patrick got "dinged" and was forced out of action, specifying that his abrupt exit from his starting post at right guard wasn't performance-based. His arms-raised surrender pose on a Joe Burrow scramble drill wasn't a good look, especially once Burrow was engulfed by three Commanders near his own end zone.

Whether Patrick would've been removed or not if healthy is unclear. What was clear is he didn't improve on a disastrous preseason opener, and rookie fifth-round pick Jalen Rivers played well in his place. I won't declare Rivers a big winner either, because if Risner signs on the dotted line, he'll be penciled in as the starting right guard.

Winner: Trey Hendrickson, DE

The saga continues. Hendrickson rattled off 35 sacks the last two seasons. I was cackling at the TV as the Bengals failed to generate any pressure up front during all the meaningful, early series. It just made the organization look awful for refusing to guarantee any money beyond the first year of a prospective contract extension.

I noticed some Who Dey Twitter heads who argued in real time that Hendrickson was actually losing money based on how bad Cincinnati looked on defense. My take? It's terrifying to imagine the dark depths that unit could sink to in the event Hendrickson isn't in the lineup by Week 1.

Nobody the Bengals would get in a Trey Hendrickson trade is anywhere near as impactful as Trey Hendrickson for this team and this season. It'd be a blunder of incalculable proportions to let him get away. Just a reminder for those who don't know...

Dehner transcribed what Taylor said about the defense at his postgame presser. Let's hope he's right.

"It’s preseason. I feel really excited about where our defense is at ... We’re not pushing the envelope with what we are asking them to do. I know what I see every day in practice and I’m excited about the direction."

Loser: Jordan Battle, S

If a picture's worth a thousand words, the moving image is often more telling. Just check out the uber-confident, trash-talking Jordan Battle on these two plays against Washington's starters and tell me you feel good about Cincinnati's safety position.

Here's praying that Battle shows better form by the time Week 1 in Cleveland rolls around, because that's some awfully rough film. Problem is, it's not like the Bengals have a bunch of world beaters behind him. It's an unproven group rife with inexperience.

Can we do a little take-backsies on letting Jessie Bates flee to Atlanta in free agency? No? That's not allowed. Darn.

I think Battle will fight back and be a mid-level starter once it matters. That said, his lackluster tackling underscored a major red flag for the whole defense through two discouraging preseason outings.

Winner: Oren Burks, LB

Other than mere draft status, it eludes my understanding as to why the Bengals crowned rookie second-round pick Demetrius Knight Jr. as a starter next to Logan Wilson.

Cincinnati signed Oren Burks in free agency because of his dominance in the playoffs during the Eagles' run to the Super Bowl. Burks filled in very well for the injured Nakobe Dean as a starter down the stretch for Philly. Why is he running with the 2s on his new team?

Again, it must be a draft status thing, and the fact that the Bengals evidently think a lot of Knight as a person and as a player. I just don't see what Knight has done this preseason to merit a starting gig over someone like Burks.

Whereas Knight was out of position and on the ground more than is desirable, Burks made the most decisive tackle of the night on a run stop near the line of scrimmage. We'll see if that has any bearing on the final depth chart.

I don't really care at this point if a 25-year-old rookie in Knight who was drafted quite early isn't ready to start out of the gates. Just get the best players on the field, and make sure this defense can do something to prevent the offense from needing to score 30 points per game just to stay competitive.

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