Eric Dungey Makes 2021 NFL Preseason Debut

Former Syracuse quarterback Eric Dungey made his 2021 preseason debut for the Cincinnati Bengals Friday night. The Bengals lost to the Washington Football Team 17-13. Dungey led the Bengals on their last two drives of the game. He finished 3-6 for 14 yards and ran twice for 12 yards.

On Dungey's first play under center, he scrambled for an 11 yard gain. Just a few plays later, he found running back Jacques Patrick on a third down play to pick up a first down. That helped set up a 50 yard field goal to pull Cincinnati to within four points.

The Bengals would force a three and out giving Dungey a shot at a game winning drive. However, after two Patrick runs picked up a first down, the Bengals stalled and were forced to go fourth and two. Dungey dropped back to throw, saw no one open and elected to try to run for the first. He was tackled one yard short resulting in a turnover on downs. Washington would run the clock out from there.

Dungey signed with the Bengals after a mini-camp workout in May. He is looking to make the roster as its third quarterback, but could wind up on the Bengals practice squad even if he is eventually cut.

Eric Dungey is Syracuse's all-time leader in career passing yards, second in completions and third in touchdown passes. He is one of the most productive quarterbacks in Orange history. Forced into action as a true freshman when veteran Terell Hunt got hurt, Dungey played with grit, toughness and determination, and became a fan favorite.

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He helped lead Syracuse to an upset over the defending national champion Clemson Tigers in the Dome in 2017. Dungey then led the Orange to a 10 win 2018 season capped by a Camping World Bowl win over West Virginia. Syracuse finished that season 10-3 and ranked 15th in the country in the final polls.

"Coach Babers came in and from day one he demanded perfection," Dungey said. "That was a huge thing. He made it a very highly competitive place to be. He loves competition and I think he saw that I was a very competitive person. He brought the best out of me in that sense. That's why I always got a lot of respect for him because he's able to see what makes players tick and he gets the best out of them. He gets the highest performance out of them. For me, he saw that I loved to compete. He really went out of his way and took the time to teach me the ins and outs of the game.