6 winners (and 2 losers) for Bengals in preseason win over Eagles

The Cincinnati Bengals are fielding as deep of a roster as they've had in the Joe Burrow era. Thus, their preseason finale against Philadelphia Eagles felt a lot different than past years form the jump. And different in a good way, even before the Bengals prevailed by a score of 30-13.

In fact, Friday night was more about escaping without injuries than anyone of note having to prove something. We already knew training camp MVP Dohnte Meyers was a DAWG, and the same goes for some of the other dynamic rookies.

But Meyers saw enough action to eliminate any doubts that he belongs on the 53-man roster, just one year removed from playing in the CFL. It's impossible not to kick off the preseason-capping winners and losers without mentioning Meyers from the jump.

Winner: Dohnte Meyers. Again.

Dohnte Meyers is HIM. You talk about backing up your words. Meyers spoke this week about how the prospect of making the 53-man roster just grows the chip on his shoulder. He's running his own race, trusting his own process, and simply wants to keep improving.

Sure seems to be working out swimmingly for the Bengals' training camp MVP. Wasting no time to leave a lasting impression in Philly, Meyers racked up three catches on three targets for 51 yards on the Bengals' opening possession.

An intermediate out-breaking route saw Meyers make a man miss near the sideline and eat up some YAC. He put an Eagles slot corner to sleep on a quick hesi-slant to convert a 3rd and 7 with ease. Meyers also caught a crossing route and picked up another chunk gain on a nice delivery from NFL Odysseus Josh Johnson.

Beat writers and fans alike were begging the Bengals to take Meyers out of the game after his early dominance. Prayers were answered. Like I said, Meyers will be on the active roster.

Loser: Cincinnati's red zone execution

We knew the starters wouldn't be in action, yet the concerns about offensive line depth and the new-look running game didn't exactly quiet down on Friday eve.

Two first-half drives deep in Eagles territory stalled out. One was the result of a loss of yards on a first-down run by Tahj Brooks that put Cincinnati behind the sticks. The other consisted of some hard-earned yards on the ground, followed by three straight pass plays that failed to reach pay dirt.

Brooks continues to be less than impressive as the Bengals' RB3. He lost a fumble, too. Neither Gary Brightwell (he also lost a fumble) nor Kendall Milton are really moving the needle for me either. The trio behind Chase Brown and Samaje Perine combined for 45 yards on 13 carries in the first two quarters.

Inject Isaac Guerendo (once he's healthy) and his raw 4.3 speed directly into my veins.

Winner: The Bengals quarterback room

One could argue keeping three QBs is a waste of space on a roster that already features Joe Burrow and Joe Flacco. However, Josh Johnson just keeps proving his value. He fed Meyers on that opening drive very well, and finished 12-of-19 passing for 156 yards in the opening half. A healthy 8.2 yards per attempt.

When was the last time Johnson had a real chance to show what he can do? He's balled out the past two preseason games. If you gave him Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to throw to, combined with his plus mobility, I'm pretty sure he could get it done if his number was called.

I just really believe in having Flacco and Johnson and their immense football knowledge in the QB room with Burrow. Johnson may have made his presence on the roster an inevitability with the command, quick release, and dynamic arm talent he showed over the last two weeks.

Bear in mind, too, that it only takes one QB injury for teams to start blowing up Cincinnati's phone lines about a Flacco trade.

Loser: Narratives surrounding the Bengals' 2024 draft class

McKinnley Jackson was in action and didn't do much of anything. He was out there by necessity and lacking nose tackle personnel than anything else. Same vibe with Daijahn Anthony at safety, although I quite like him and love how he laid the lumber on this Tacario Davis interception:

Second-round pick Kris Jenkins Jr. sat out, presumably because the Bengals are trying to trade him and don't want to tank his value by putting him in the line of fire. Josh Newton should've been a roster lock, but it felt like he was auditioning for other teams while D.J. Ivey sat out with a seemingly secure roster spot.

Out of 10 picks in that 2024 Bengals draft class, right tackle Amarius Mims looks like the only surefire hit. The jury is still out on the rest. If Jackson, Jenkins, and Newton all get waived — a highly probable outcome — 60% of that class will be off the roster.

Winner: Evan McPherson. Again.

If Money Mac has missed a kick throughout training camp, I haven't seen news of it. He hasn't missed in the actual game situations.

And Evan McPherson isn't nailing chip shots, either. He's routinely drilling kicks from 50-plus yards and upwards of 60 yards. McPherson knocked through a 58-yarder on Friday night along with a couple other field goals to put the Bengals up 9-3 at halftime when their offense stalled upon crossing midfield.

This truly feels like McPherson is back in his rookie season form, when Cincinnati shocked the world and ran to Super Bowl LVI. It's nice to know that he can virtually guarantee the Bengals three points if they just get to the opponent's 40-yard line or thereabouts.

Kicking execution is often the difference between winning and losing on at least a handful of occasions for any given team in a season. McPherson has the makings of an absolute ace in the hole in 2026.

Winner: The receiver/return man depth battle

We needed to see the bar raised from Charlie Jones in this area. Despite his three return TDs in as many years, Jones was not contributing anything to the offense.

Thanks to Dohnte Meyers' emergence, and wideout/returner Ke'Shawn Williams' recieving touchdown on Friday night, the "irons sharpens iron" adage seems to have played out nicely here.

I can't call Jones a loser, because he had a 31-yard punt return and had two catches for 36 yards. But Williams' 11-yard TD snag stands out more. The route, the quickness, the wiggle, and the power to finish over the goal line? Come on now. I've never seen anything like that out of our guy Chuck.

I wouldn't mind seeing Williams or Mitchell Tinsley on the roster over Jones, simply because they could be bigger contributors to the passing game if any of the Bengals' stars happen to go down.

Winner: Tacario Davis

Couldn't leave Tacario Davis off of here. He had the interception, yes, but also an impressive tackle for loss, and an exceptional pass breakup on Eagles first-round receiver Makai Lemon.

Davis is a lengthy corner with plenty of competitive tenacity at the catch point and isn't afraid to bring the thump in run support. He seems to be coming on very strong toward the end of training camp, which made the injury to Dax Hill a bit of a blessing in disguise.

Winner: The bottom of the running back depth chart

You could argue that the running backs who mattered at the start of the evening didn't perform particularly well. However, undrafted rookies Kentrel Bullock and Jamal Haynes more than picked up the slack as the game wound to a close.

Haynes piled up 33 quick rushing yards on four carries. Bullock went for 73 yards on 11 carries and capped off that impressive spurt with a 7-yard TD scamper. Way to keep your feet just long enough, young fella!

Haynes followed that with a 39-yard dash to blow the game open on the very next Cincinnati possession. It might be the best preseason run I've ever seen.

Where have these cats been!? I demand a time-suck refund watching Brooks and the other Bengals ball-carriers crash into defenders with little to show for it.

Next up: Roster cuts and Week 1. If I can't have Isaac Guerendo, at least that is going into my veins in the coming days. I mean shoot, what if Bullock or Haynes are good enough to steal a roster spot!? I'm kidding. That won't happen. I don't think?

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