Bengals see room for improvement after preseason opener

The parts of the Cincinnati Bengals that looked good last season flourished in the preseason opener against the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday night.

Quarterback Joe Burrow was nearly flawless and threw a couple of touchdowns. Wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase displayed the All-Pro skills that netted him a massive contract extension.

Those were the good parts. But there were still other areas that were lacking in a 34-27 loss at Lincoln Financial Field.

Cincinnati’s first-string defense yielded explosive plays to an Eagles offense led by quarterback Tanner McKee. That was softened by the basic defense the Bengals employed in the exhibition game.

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But other miscues couldn’t be papered over. The Bengals committed eight penalties for 68 yards and made too many avoidable mistakes.

“We got to be better,” Burrow told reporters in Philadelphia after the loss. “Too many procedural penalties, too many errors. Things like that are going to happen, but I think it just wasn’t clean enough across the board.”

Burrow saw extensive preseason action for only the second time in his career. He led the offense on two scoring drives in the first quarter and completed 9 of 10 passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns. The only incompletion was his first throw, an errant pass to Tee Higgins that Burrow said was “a bad throw” that he simply missed.

And as he has in the past, the two-time Pro Bowler was able to help make amends for others’ mistakes. A chop block penalty on right guard Lucas Patrick, who is competing for the starting job, negated a potential touchdown throw from Burrow to Chase. The Bengals eventually found the end zone on the drive when tight end Tanner Hudson fought across the goal line for a 12-yard touchdown.

Other mishaps, however, cost the Bengals points.

Cincinnati cornerback DJ Ivey, who has impressed coaches in training camp, committed an offside penalty that negated a missed field goal. The Eagles eventually scored those three points later in the drive.

Later, an unnecessary roughness call on defensive tackle McKinnley Jackson gave the Eagles a fresh set of downs. Philadelphia capitalized with a touchdown early in the fourth quarter.

Last season, seven of Cincinnati’s eight regular-season losses were by seven or fewer points. The only exception was a 20-point loss to the Eagles, the eventual Super Bowl champions.

That wasn’t lost on coach Zac Taylor after the game.

“Those are all things that as a team, we can’t tolerate,” Taylor said. “We’ve got to play better team football than that.”

The Bengals are hoping to end a two-year postseason drought and capitalize on Burrow’s improved form following a season-ending wrist injury in 2023. Last year, Burrow led the NFL in passing yards and was an MVP finalist.

Playing in the preseason is a strategy the Bengals hope can cure the team’s slow starts to the regular season. Cincinnati has just one combined win in Weeks 1 and 2 dating back to 2019, Taylor’s first season. That is the worst record in such games during that span.

Coming into Thursday, Burrow believed he was throwing the ball as well as he ever has during training camp.

But Burrow, like others on the team, believed he could have been a touch sharper in the preseason debut.

“Today was average,” Burrow said of how he’s spinning the ball. “But overall, I’m happy with where I’m at. Next week I’d like to be a little better.”