LANDOVER, Md. \_ Bengals head coach Zac Taylor didn't round up the usual suspects when he put quarterback Joe Burrow back into Monday night's preseason game here at Northwest Stadium for his third and final drive.
Out were All-Pro wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase and his other top target, wide receiver Tee Higgins. Also out were his top two running backs, Chase Brown and Samaje Perine.
Plus, rookie Jalen Rivers was in at right guard after Lucas Patrick got dinged on the previous drive.
And they delivered with a 12-play, 70-yard touchdown drive capped by Burrow drilling a four-yard touchdown pass through three defenders to backup wide receiver Charlie Jones after the pair kept the drive going with a 13-yard slant on fourth-and-three.
That tied it at 14 and sparked the Bengals to a 31-17 win over Washington on Burrow's fourth touchdown drive in five preseason appearances.
Taylor said Burrow talked to him about getting some reps with the backups. So Burrow promptly hit his last five passes as Chase, Higgins, Brown, Perine and, not to mention, tight end Mike Gesicki, watched. There was Jones, and wide receiver Andrei Iosivas grabbing a 16-yarder and then running a hellacious come-back route to get them in the red zone with 12 more.
"It's no secret we've played games without Ja'Marr and Tee. I've missed games. That's life in the NFL," Burrow said. "You need guys to step up, and I need reps with those guys at some point. To get out there with guys like Chuck, Mitch (Tinlsey), and 'Drei running different stuff in different positions and different routes, that's very valuable."
**JOE JUICED**
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That one sack, and the one that got reversed on a "horse collar," penalty , s exactly why Burrow wants to play in the preseason. And he most certainly has. With Monday's career-high 24 snaps for a preseaon game, Burrow has now played a personal-high of 40 snaps in August.
He probably should have unloaded both. Certainly, the 17-yarder where he was dropped at his own 1and tried to get out of it three times. But this is what is getting a feel for the pocket and the rush is all about. And he says he feels good about his time in the pocket this summer.
"That's the time to make those mistakes and learn from them," Burrow said. "The game doesn't count."