The Cincinnati Bengals' had a heated joint practice session with the Chicago Bears on Thursday, and ultimately won the day. Thanks to some excellent execution by Joe Burrow and the offense, plus some timely plays by superstar nose tackle Dexter Lawrence, the Bengals can walk away with their heads held high.
In what could prove to be a Super Bowl preview, Chicago and Cincinnati traded major blows on offense by all accounts from the salute-worthy beat reporters on the scene. Burrow and his counterpart, fellow No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams, dominated for the most part.
As far as the Bengals' side of things, it's worth zeroing in on the biggest implications in the aftermath of this joint practice. That's especially so since Zac Taylor said he'll sit Cincinnati's starters in Saturday's preseason game regardless of how Thursday's practice went.
Dexter Lawrence is the truth
Did I call this? Yes. Will I gloat about it? You bet I will. Not that it's bold to suggest Dexter Lawrence will wreak havoc on any given day on the gridiron, but this was a special to hush up the haters who actually believe Cincinnati giving up the 10th overall pick in the draft was an overpay.
CBS Cincinnati's Yanni Tragellis (shout out Local 12!!) documented the sequence in which Lawrence hounded Williams into a 3rd and long that proved costly on the final possession:
"Caleb Williams chased out of the pocket to the right by Dexter Lawrence. Completes a throw on the run for a gain of 5. Dexter Lawrence again in the backfield nearly untouched. Has to run by Williams but given the sack for a loss of 7. 3rd and 12 Bears gain a few back setting up 4th and 8. 4th down: 26 seconds left. Williams incomplete to the left sideline. DJ Ivey with tight coverage forces the overthrow."
I knew Garrett Bradbury and the Bears' interior o-line stood no chance against Lawrence. Too bad we won't see more of it this Saturday in a live game situation.
Oh, and another splashy play saw Lawrence tip a pass at the line of scrimmage right to himself for an interception. The Bengals actually released footage of the pivotal INT, which you always love to see!
Heard ya wanted to see this. pic.twitter.com/wvbDn5Q4Pu
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) August 20, 2026
As long as he can make those massive plays in high-leverage moments, he'll be well worth the trade. Per BengalsTalk.com's James Rapien, Lawrence is indeed a force multiplier on the d-line:
Bengals defense DOMINATING this round of 11s. Murphy with pressure again, Caleb Williams’ pass from the end zone sails and Jalen Davis made a diving pick in the middle of the field. https://t.co/5TfOHLKuqr
— James Rapien (@JamesRapien) August 20, 2026
Did anyone look up how New York Giants guard Francis Mauigoa fared today in his joint practice? Asking for a friend!
Bengals' nickelback position sounds shakier than expected
Jalen Davis is a longtime practice squad veteran who stepped into the starting nickel role last year and played well for the second half of the season or thereabouts. Acknowledging that he made an interception off Williams, he also had his fair share of lumps on Thursday.
NBC 5's Charlie Clifford documented how Davis got caught napping a bit on a play fake for a TD in one of the 11-on-11 sessions:
"Caleb Williams gets Bengals CB Jalen Davis to bite on a play action. Wide open touchdown pass to Kalif Raymond. Then hits Loveland for a goal line touchdown. Very little for the Bengals defense to get excited about the past couple series."
Fox19's Jeremy Rauch observed that the Bears were generally having success throwing in Davis' direction and in targeting D.J. Ivey, who has inside-out versatility and got more run with Dax Hill out of action.
It's encouraging that Davis ended practice on a high note. I'm not going to overreact. After all, the Bears do have Colston Loveland at tight end, and he's more like a WR3 in terms of his pass-catching skill set. Not to short change his all-around abilities at his natural position. Dude can do it all.
I do wonder if defensive coordinator Al Golden might consider a rotation of sorts at slot cornerback just to keep opponents on their toes. That could make for a fun way to disguise coverages in the secondary.
If the Bengals deployed Jordan Battle at deep safety, Kyle Dugger in the box, and currently-injured Bryan Cook in the slot in certain packages, that could go a long way toward making the back end more unpredictable for Cincinnati's opponents.
A reminder that Tee Higgins being healthy makes the offense truly lethal
Back to the positive side of things: Tee Higgins is a straight-up beast. He'd be a No. 1 wide receiver on a lot of teams, yet he had the wherewithal to stick with Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase in Cincy to build something special.
Sadly, Higgins keeps going in and out of the lineup with injuries. When the Bengals' power trio is on the field at the same time, however, they're borderline unstoppable. Doesn't matter how the defense, offensive line, or the Cincinnati rushing attack is faring.
In describing how much of a shootout Bears-Bengals joint practice was, Rapien captured the consensus chorus of eyewitnesses in stating that Higgins was, "the best player on offense for Cincy."
The running game and under center procedures are still a work in progress
It didn't sound like Chase Brown or Samaje Perine had much room to run versus the Bears' front seven. Cincinnati is still working through running more plays under center, and the main objective there is to bleed the clock late in games when they're hopefully protecting leads.
There's sort of a fine line in these joint practices. Teams don't want to show too much in the way of exotic wrinkles from either playbook, yet they do want quality, competitive reps for their starters.
I wouldn't panic about the Brown-Perine lackluster outing. The Bengals ran the ball so well down the stretch of last season even without going under center very often. Fox19's Joe Danneman did a great job documenting each joint practice series, and the longest run from Brown was a 9-yard gain at most.
It wasn't specified whether that Brown run was from under center. Lots of minimal gains or stuffs at the line. Not a lot of success through the air either. Oh well! Onward!
Cashius Howell has all the makings of a unicorn, aka instant-impact rookie
If the profound disappointment I felt about Shemar Stewart from Day 1 last year was the necessary price to pay for Cashius Howell, consider me chuffed to have gone through the whole ordeal.
Howell has been tearing it up throughout training camp and the preseason. That evidently translated to the joint practice field against the Bears. The rookie second-round pick is a rare top draft selection by Cincinnati who may actually have a positive, high-level effect during his maiden pro campaign.
On that aforementioned Lawrence interception, per Rauch, Howell got the initial pressure up the middle to forced the hurried throw into Sexy Dexy's mitts. The reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year got credit with a sack with an excellent speed rush off the edge, too, as reported by ESPN's Ben Baby.
Cashius? More like CASH-MONEY, BAY-BEEEEEE!
Just think about what this defensive line could look like with Lawrence, Jonathan Allen and B.J. Hill on the inside, plus Boye Mafe, Myles Murphy, and Howell — and maybe Stewart!? — screaming in off the edge and moving all around to stunt and create challenging pressure looks.
What a time to be a Bengals fan, y'all. This has the makings of something special.
Add us as a preferred source on Google