CINCINNATI – Saturday night’s preseason opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers gave the Cincinnati Bengals a glimpse of what they expect will be a bounce-back year for quarterback Joe Burrow.
The fun lasted one series, which ended in a Burrow touchdown pass.
It was a dismal offensive performance for much of the post-Burrow action until third-string quarterback Logan Woodside and rookie third-round pick Jermaine Burton started hooking up on deep shots.
Joe Burrow Shines, Jake Browning Struggles in Bengals Opener
Woodside hit Burton for a go-ahead 37-yard touchdown with 3:33 to go. Then after Tampa Bay surged ahead with 57 ticks remaining, Woodside went back to Burton for a 38-yard bomb to the Buccaneers 24-yard line.
But on fourth and 10, Cincinnati head coach Zac Taylor eschewed the field goal for a tie and went for it. Woodside came up short on a scramble, and Tampa Bay prevailed 17-14.
Slidin' in @NASAMAINE3
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— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) August 11, 2024
Here are five observations from the game.
Burrow Is Back
Burrow has looked as though he’s all the way back from his wrist surgery for weeks, but Saturday night added even more validation to that assessment.
Burrow completed 5 of 7 passes to lead the Bengals on a 12-play, 71-yard drive to open the game, capping the series with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Tee Higgins.
WE ARE SO BACK.
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— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) August 10, 2024
The two incompletions were a deep shot for Higgins into double coverage and a spiked throwaway when pressure broke through the line. The deep ball was perfectly placed, but Tampa Bay safety Kaevon Merriweather was able to rake the ball free of Higgins’ grasp.
Burrow’s five completions went to four different receivers, with running back Chase Brown and wide receivers Trenton Irwin and Andrei Iosivas also grabbing one.
With the exception of the deep ball, Burrow got rid of the ball in a hurry on his other pass attempts, which obviously was a focus to ensure no defenders would get close to him.
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Per TruMedia, Burrow’s average time to throw was 2.07 seconds. Other than the deep ball to Higgins (3.6) and a third-down crosser to Iosivas (2.3), during which Burrow got great protection from the offensive line, his time to throw was less than two seconds.
Getting Burrow reps was key to the decision to play the starters. Success was secondary.
Getting out of the game healthy was the top mission.
The Bengals succeeded on all counts.
Browning Is Back … to Earth
After authoring one of the best stories of the 2023 season with the way he performed in his first chance to play, Bengals backup quarterback Jake Browning had a rough 2024 debut.
Browning’s first three series resulted in three-and-outs, and he threw an interception on the first play of his fourth.
The second-team offense eventually moved the ball in the two-minute drill before halftime, but it ended with Evan McPherson missing a 58-yard field goal.
The Bengals gained 61 yards on 12 plays with Burrow at the helm. The rest of the first half saw the Browning-led offense run 18 plays for 58 yards.
Browning finished 10 of 18 for 52 yards with one interception and a passer rating of 37.7.
Punting Battle Heats Up
Browning’s inability to move the offense after taking over for Burrow helped special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons evaluate the punter battle.
Incumbent Brad Robbins had three punts for a 50.0-yard average.
Robbins’ first punt was a poor 37-yard attempt from his own 40. His second was much better, a 53-yarder that Tampa Bay’s Trey Palmer returned for just 4 yards.
His third was his best of the night, a 60-yarder with a 10-yard return.
Undrafted rookie Ryan Rehkow, whose arrival led to the release of Austin McNamara, launched his first punt, a 50-yarder with a 10-yard return.
His second one was a 59-yarder from his own end zone with a 12-yard return.
Rehkow’s third of the night also went 59 yards, but it went into the end zone for a 39-yard net.
Rehkow was holder on Evan McPherson’s missed 58-yard field goal attempt at the end of the first half, but there didn’t appear to be an issue with the hold.
Rookies Go Down, Not Out
Rookie cornerback Josh Newton, a fifth-round pick out of TCU, has been impressing coaches since arriving, and he added another highlight to his summer reel with a leaping interception of Tampa Bay quarterback Kyle Trask in the second quarter.
It came just a couple of plays after trainers ran onto the field to tend to Newton, who absorbed a blindside block from Buccaneers’ tight end Devin Culp while trailing in coverage on a play near the goal line.
Makin' moves out there @BumpnRunFig
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— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) August 10, 2024
Newton appeared to get the wind knocked out of him and only missed a couple of plays.
Seventh-round safety Daijahn Anthony left the game in the third quarter after taking a shot to the nose. He spent a long time in the blue medical tent and had his nose bandaged when he came out.
Cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt appeared to be having a good time at Anthony’s expense after he emerged, suggesting the issue isn’t serious.
Dax Hill Flashes
Though he appears to have fallen well behind DJ Turner II in the battle for the starting cornerback job opposite Cam Taylor-Britt, Dax Hill had a strong showing with three passes defensed in the first half.
Hill’s career-high is two, which he set twice last year. His career total is just 11.
One of the pass breakups nearly ended up being an interception as Hill deflected the ball and then tried to corral it as he went to the ground.
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Hill also got beat on a 28-yard pass when the Bucs converted a third-and-4 attempt.
The fact that Turner only played the first 11 snaps and Hill logged 32 shows where the two are in the pecking order three weeks into camp.
Not winning the starting job would be another setback for the 2022 first-round pick, who barely played as a rookie, struggled as the starting safety last year, and made the switch to cornerback this spring with every chance to win the job.
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