Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Mitchell Tinsley was the star attraction on Monday night at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md.
With no Ja’Marr Chase or Tee Higgins in the lineup, Tinsley was more than capable of filling the star wideout void in a revenge game against his former team, the Washington Commanders. Through two quarters alone, Tinsley caught five passes for 73 yards and two touchdowns.
But the numbers didn’t tell the whole story. Tinsley may have put up the greatest 30-second stretch in NFL preseason history to close out the first half.
With Cincinnati facing 1st-and-10 at Washington’s 13, Tinsley made a heavily contested grab for a tie-breaking touchdown to give the Bengals a 21-14 lead. It was his third catch of the drive.
Have a drive, Mitch Tinsley!
His third catch of the drive is a TD 🙌
Watch on ESPN
Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/67SMjWO3v8
— NFL (@NFL) August 19, 2025
The Commanders coughed up the ball via an interception one play later, giving the Bengals possession just outside the red zone. Tinsley made an unreal catch toward the corner of the end zone on a looping pass from Jake Browning for another TD.
MITCHELL TINSLEY HAVE A DAY!!!! #CINvsWAS on @espn pic.twitter.com/Q7g5xFOKlf
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) August 19, 2025
Here’s another angle of the second touchdown, which has Tinsley looking like prime Julio Jones with the toe drag.
poetry in the end zone 🔥 pic.twitter.com/XQRBrIytbe
— NFL (@NFL) August 19, 2025
The Commanders signed Tinsley as an undrafted free agent before the 2023 season. The Penn State alum played in two contests and failed to record any statistics. He spent the 2024 campaign on Washington’s practice squad before joining the Bengals in February on a non-guaranteed one-year deal worth just under $1 million.
If the Bengals don’t add Tinsley to their final 53-man roster, another NFL team probably will.