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Preseason Game 4 Recap: Cincinnati Bengals vs. Indianapolis Colts

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We’re not sure which was harder to come by in the Cincinnati Bengals’s final preseason game – starters or points.

But either way, Cincy’s 7-6 loss to the Indianapolis Colts was just the Bengals’ final warm-up act before the week 1 match-up with Baltimore.

The first teamers sat on both sides. Bengal backup QB AJ McCarron took the reigns and went 20/30 for 216 yards. The defense was pitching a shutout until Colts quarterback Phillip Walker lobbed a 29-yard TD pass to Justice Liggins in the fourth quarter to give the horsies the win.

It wouldn’t have been a win, though, if the Cincinnati Bengals’ kickers hadn’t done their best Mike Nugent impression. Jake Elliott and Randy Bullock each made field goals (50 and 31 yards, respectively), but combined to miss three. Any one of which would have won the game. That may get a hall pass in the preseason, but against a divisional rival with a playoff spot on the line? Mmmm, not so much.

The Cincinnati Bengals did have bright spots. Jordan Willis notched his fourth sack in four games. Jordan Evans played with a Danielle-Steel-book-collection level of passion. Rookie jet engine John Ross took a sweep 25 yards, although he left with a non-serious knee injury. Running back Jarveon Williams rushed for 117 yards and added 42 more on five receptions.

Cincinnati Bengals Player of the Game

We’ll split this one between Williams and Evans. The final preseason game is where the rookies have to make their last good impression, and both of them did. Williams can provide good depth at running back, while Evans (six total tackles, two passes defended, a tackle for loss and a quarterback hit) would be great to have while Vontaze “Category 4” Burfict is serving a three-game suspension.

What This Means Going Forward

We were having some PTSD flashbacks to last season while watching the kickers perform. They could (and most likely did) just have an off night. But Cincinnati must find a reliable kicker. Coach Marvin Lewis likely won’t keep two of them on the roster, which is about to be trimmed to 53 men. Will the person who is picked be consistent throughout the season? Time will tell.

Curtain’s about to go up on the 2017 season, ladies and germs. We’re ready. Are you?

Bengals Biggest Needs – Pre-Free Agency

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The free agency season is upon us.

And free agency is a funny thing. Maybe your team gets lucky and signs the right players. The best players. The ones who will get your fans high-fiving about how these new guys are the missing pieces who are needed to bring a championship. And yet, you can lose players just as easily as get them. When the dust settles, you may have filled three holes on the team and are staring at three new ones that weren’t a problem before. Welcome to the NFL.

So in this pre-free agency period, what are the places where the Cincinnati Bengals could use some help?

Cincinnati Bengals 3 Biggest Team Needs – Pre-Free Agency

1) Wide Receiver – The Bengals certainly have a star wideout in AJ Green. Beyond him, though, they need playmakers and depth. Tight end Tyler Eifert is a passing-game weapon, but he’s injury prone. Receiver Tyler Boyd is great in the slot but lacks much experience as a second-year man. A speedy deep threat would come in handy against defenses who want to double-team Green. FA names to keep an eye on include Terrelle Pryor, DeSean Jackson, and Kenny Stills (who averaged an eye-popping 17.3 yards per catch and 9 TDs in 2016).

2) Pass Rusher – We’ve got Carlos Dunlap. We have Geno Atkins. We have ………. Dunlap and Atkins. They combined for 17 sacks last year. Outside of those two, there are no ends on Cincy’s D-line who consistently get to the QB. The market has lots of available players this year, but no can’t-miss guys. Green Bay’s Nick Perry and Datone Jones could help out (both provide versatility as DEs who also play OLB).

3) Offensive Line – This one was a toss-up to make this list, along with running back. We chose OL because Cedric Ogbuehi and Jake Fisher haven’t panned out yet, and there’s no guarantee that the Cincinnati Bengals will hold onto free agents Andrew Whitworth and Kevin Zeitler. Pass protection will be a major concern in 2017 because you can’t lose Andy Dalton, and you definitely can’t lose Andy Dalton when there’s talk going around about trading No. 2 quarterback AJ McCarron.

Bengals Awarded 4 Compensatory Draft Picks

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The Cincinnati Bengals picked up 4 compensatory draft picks on Friday. That brings their total number of selections in the 2017 NFL Draft to 11.

The team now has an extra pick in rounds 4-7 (one per round), giving them multiple picks in each of those rounds. They received these extra picks as the result of losing Marvin Jones, Mohamed Sanu, Reggie Nelson, Andre Smith and Emmanuel Lamur last offseason.

At this point, Cincy has the 9th overall pick in the first round. Their new slots are the 138th overall pick (fourth round), 178th (fifth), 219th (sixth) and 253rd (seventh).

And the Cincinnati Bengals may not be done stocking up on their number of draft selections yet.

Trade Away AJ?


Backup quarterback AJ McCarron’s status is a hot topic in Cincinnati. He becomes a restricted free agent after the ’17 season. The Cleveland Browns have been mentioned as a team that’s interested in him – and they hold 2 second-round picks and the first pick of the third round. McCarron’s a quality player with potential (66.4% completion rate in 2015, 6 TDs) but hasn’t had much of a chance to prove himself behind Andy Dalton. He could get the opportunity from Cleveland. And in the process, Cincinnati could wind up with enough draft picks to sink a ship.

Check out the complete list of compensatory picks here!