The Cincinnati Bengals were a little all over the place on Thursday night in the preseason opener against the Detroit Lions.
Joe Burrow’s under-center offense was a good example of this early. One play, he hit a wideout for a nice gain and it appeared that things were looking up in the formation that has given the star quarterback some trouble.
Not long after, he held the ball too long while the line gave up pressure and took a bad sack.
So, one of those preseason games.
Bengals takeaways vs. Lions
The good: Young players shining
A list of younger players enjoying notable moments early in the game:
- Rookie guard Brian Parker
- Rookie tight end Jack Endries
- WR Dohnte Meyers
- Rookie Cashius Howell
That’s not all, but it’s a fun list. Howell had a strong showing and recovered a fumble. Endries scored and made the tight end depth chart more interesting. Parker looks like he’ll eventually be a starter. And Meyers is clearly a cut above the other sixth, if not fifth wideout options on the final 53-man roster.
The bad: Orlando Brown Jr.
Every tackle has a bad rep or two in preseason. But Orlando Brown Jr.’s whiff on Thursday night is going to stick out for a while. Plenty of possible explanations, but at the end of the day, he historically struggles with speed rushers and let a guy blow past him for a sack.
The ugly: The under-center offense
Maybe Zac Taylor isn’t great at drawing it up. Maybe Joe Burrow just can’t execute it at an elite level. Who knows? Either way, this issue that has chased the Bengals won’t go away. Given how many times it has been a problem in the past, one can’t just wave off Thursday night’s struggles as growing pains. They need to figure it out or risk being one-dimensional next year if they have to remove it.
This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Good, bad and ugly from Bengals’ preseason win vs. Lions