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Cincinnati Bengals
Aug 8, 2025 12:39 PM EDT
The broadcast of the Cincinnati Bengals and Philadelphia Eagles’ preseason opener Thursday night noted how Cincy is 1-11 in the first two games of a new season in the six years under head coach Zac Taylor. That was the driving factor in Taylor purposely playing his starters early in the year, with hopes that increased preseason snaps can translate to more consistency once games count.
Stars Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins were all in action in the first half, but despite them putting up solid performances, the Bengals gave up a lead in the second quarter to eventually fall 34-27 in Philly.
Burrow, a quarterback who has suffered various injuries in his five-year career, was especially one to watch as he got the start and played the first few drives. He was late on a throw over the middle to Higgins on his first attempt, but settled in nicely the rest of the way.
“I missed the first throw. That was disappointing,” Burrow said. “After that we locked in and have a couple of nice drives.”
It wasn’t a full-game workload for Burrow, but it’s the most preseason reps he’s ever seen. Burrow played 15 snaps Thursday night. Going into the game, he had played 15 preseason snaps over the course of his entire career.
The MVP finalist and passing leader from last season was 9-10 for 123 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions – equaling to a near-perfect 157.5 passer rating. The team took a step back after Jake Browning took over under center, but even Burrow believed he could’ve played better when he was out there.
“Today was average,” Burrow said. “Next week I’d like to be a little better. I could have been better with the first throw. I put all the other ones where I wanted to put them. I would have liked to have spun it a little better.”
His first touchdown went to tight end Tanner Hudson to cap the Bengals’ first drive. Staying composed following a red-zone penalty, Burrow found Hudson on a quick curl and let him do the rest.
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Chase had an excellent start to his season after a historic 2024 campaign where he led the league in each of the “triple crown” receiver categories. Burrow and Chase connected for four catches and 77 yards, including this 36-yard touchdown where Chase shifted his body after the catch to find space to run.
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This chance for Burrow to face a full-speed rush without the red penny is what Taylor has been looking for this summer as he prepares to avenge Cincy’s 0-3 start to last season.
“Just the threat of being hit is a big reason we want those guys out there. He knows he’s not going to get hit in practice.,” Taylor said. “So I think just for it to feel real in a game, whether he’s getting hit or not, I think just him having the knowledge that it’s possible, you know, someone can lose a one on one and you hit on the backside, a free runner can come in, that’s, that’s a whole different you can’t simulate that rep in practice.”
Taylor has been stressing this desire for Burrow to play in the preseason, saying Cincinnati would play their franchise QB “more than we ever have” before ahead of this weekend. They did exactly that, and so far so good.
“We got 15 reps tonight,” Burrow said postgame. “We’re 15 reps better.”
The next step is to translate these reps into wins. Ideally in September.
About the Author
Nathan Karseno