CHICAGO – While much of the focus for Saturday’s preseason game at Chicago was on the battle between Dax Hill and DJ Turner II for the starting cornerback job, Cincinnati Bengals rookie Josh Newton ended up getting most of the attention.
Hill and Turner played six snaps as part of two three-and-outs against the Bears’ starting offense. Allan George and Newton replaced them, with the latter playing into the fourth quarter.
And it was the whole rookie experience for the fifth-round pick out of TCU.
Bengals Rookie Josh Newton Harps on Consistency
Newton’s first series of the game ended with him breaking up a third-and-2 pass from No. 1 pick Caleb Williams and intended for veteran receiver DJ Moore.
On his next series, Newton was flagged for pass interference on a deep ball intended for Tyler Scott, resulting in a 43-yard penalty that put the Bears at the Cincinnati 15-yard line.
Then, on Chicago’s opening drive of the second half, Newton got beat by Dante Pettis for a 4-yard touchdown on third-and-goal.
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“Up and down,” he said of his day. “I’ve got to prove I can be more consistent. It’s the league. I’m going against some of the best athletes in America in this sport. You win some, you lose some.”
“Obviously, you want to win more than you lose. But as far as today, it didn’t go that way,” Newton added. “It’s fix it and move on. I can’t go back out there and start the game over, so you’ve got to take whatever comes with it. I know what I signed up for in this league.”
When Newton made his NFL debut last Saturday, it was against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ backups.
Today, the Bears played their starting offense for the entire first half, meaning Newton spent time on Moore, Keenan Allen, and rookie No. 9 pick Rome Odunze.
“It was a challenge. It’s what you want,” Newton said. “Eventually, it’s going to be a spot I’m gonna be at coming soon.”
Late in the second quarter, Odunze beat Newton on a 45-yard deep ball.
That's just beautiful 🥹
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/JOQoHwRRC5
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) August 17, 2024
It was the longest play by either team, and it set up the game’s first touchdown as Chicago took a 10-0 lead on a 7-yard scramble by Williams.
“Bad leverage,” Newton said when asked what went wrong on the long pass. “And then he turned up, so basically (it’s a) plaster drill. If you run a low route, you go high. If you run a high route, you come back.”
“He just did what he’s coached to do,” Newton continued. “I’ve just got to stay on him, keep running, and try to make a play on the ball. But good catch, good throw.”
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On the touchdown pass he allowed, Newton said there was a communication error, and he played the wrong leverage.
“Play outside leverage and just finish the play,” he said when asked what he could have done to stop the score. “Me and my other teammate, we talked through some things. We weren’t on the same page. I’m gonna take that one. It was on me, for sure.”
While there was some bad mixed in with the good for Newton today, it was standard rookie stuff. Nothing that happened for three hours at Solider Field changed how the Cincinnati coaching staff feels about him.
Or how he feels about himself.
“It was a solid experience,” Newton said. “I’ve got one more week to show my talent, show what I’m made of, and really, just be more consistent. Consistency is everything.”
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