Postgame Observations: Bengals Beat Rams 16-7 in Preseason Finale

Cincinnati finished 1-2 in the preseason.

Author:
James Rapien
Publish date:
Aug 27, 2022 8:38 PM EDT

In this story:

Cincinnati Bengals

CINCINNATI — Evan McPherson made all three of his field goal attempts and Jake Browning found Justin Rigg for the game-clinching touchdown in the fourth quarter as the Bengals beat the Rams 16-7 on Saturday night.

Cincinnati finishes with a 1-2 record this preseason.

Here are some of our postgame observations.

Left Guard Battle Decided

Cordell Volson dressed for tonight's game, but Jackson Carman got the start. Volson is getting the starter treatment, which means he'll be the Bengals' left guard on Sept. 11 in the regular season opener against the Steelers.

Jackson Carman Struggles

Carman didn't play well. He gave up a sack in the red zone when Dayton, Ohio native Michael Hoecht beat him at the line of scrimmage and brought down Allen for an eight yard loss.

Carman also got knocked around on a few plays in the run game and was called for holding in the second quarter.

He rebounded the play a bit better in the second half, but certainly didn't flash like the Bengals hoped he would coming into Saturday.

D'Ante Smith wasn't much better. He was also called for two holding penalties and struggled in pass protection.

Punter Battle

The Bengals punted the ball four times on Saturday night. Kevin Huber had a 43-yard punt that was downed at the 13-yard line and averaged 37.5 yards on his two punts.

Drue Chrisman had a 42-yarder that was fair caught at the Rams' 29-yard line. He also had a 65-yard touchback.

Special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons has a tough decision to make ahead of cutdown day.

Young Defenders Flash

Rookie defensive lineman Zach Carter capped off a successful preseason by forcing a sack fumble in the third quarter. He also had a quarterback hit.

Tegray Scales also had a good night, finishing with five tackles and a forced fumble.

Brandon Allen Plays Well

The Bengals' backup quarterback has taken some criticism this preseason, but he finished strong in Saturday's preseason finale. Allen completed 11-of-15 passes for 130 yards. He posted a 99.3 quarterback rating before leaving the game after four drives.

He connected with Kendric Pryor for a 37-yard gain and also found Stanley Morgan Jr. for a 32-yard play.

No Dax

Like Volson, Dax Hill also got the starter treatment. The Bengals' first round rookie didn't even dress for Saturday's game against the Rams. Instead, Hill ran sprints and went through a pre-game workout alongside Jessie Bates, Joe Burrow and the rest of the players that were healthy, but not dressing for the preseason finale.

Up Next

The Bengals have to trim their roster to 53 players by Tuesday, Aug. 30 at 4 p.m. ET. They host the Steelers for the regular season opener on Sept. 11 at 1 p.m. ET.

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