Postgame Observations: Bengals Beat Buccaneers 19-14 in Preseason Opener

Cincinnati improves to 1-0 this preseason.

Author:
James Rapien
Publish date:
Aug 14, 2021 10:51 PM EDT

CINCINNATI — The Bengals beat the Buccaneers 19-14 on Saturday night in their first preseason game of 2021.

Cincinnati trailed early, but scored 16-straight points to get the win.

There were plenty of highlights and a few lowlights. Here are our postgame observations:

Star Wide Receivers Make Plays

Ja'Marr Chase, Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins each finished with one catch before leaving the game.

Chase caught a screen and ran 16 yards. Boyd had a key catch on third down for 15 yards and Higgins finished with an 11 yard grab.

That is the type of balance the Bengals hoped to have when they took Chase with the fifth pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Money Mick Gets it Done

Rookie kicker Evan McPherson drilled both of his field goal attempts on Saturday night. He made a 40-yard field goal and followed it up with a make from 31-yards out. Watch his first attempt here.

Austin Seibert made both of his attempts from 24 and 38 yards, respectively.

Down Goes the GOAT

The Bengals' first-team defense only played one series and they put their best foot forward.

The secondary held up well against the Buccaneers' wide receivers to force a third-and-long. Joseph Ossai and Trey Hendrickson did the rest by sacking Tom Brady.

Ossai had a huge night, finishing with three tackles, one sack and two quarterback hits.

Unfortunate Ending

Ossai's night ended prematurely. He left the game with a right wrist injury and did not return. Hopefully it isn't anything serious because he was arguably the Bengals' best player on Saturday night.

Jackson Carman

The rookie had a couple of nice blocks, especially in the run game, but he struggled in pass protection for much of the night and got called for a holding penalty.

It's still early, but the rookie from Clemson appears to have a long way to go if he's going to earn a starting job.

Chris Evans

Evans has had an impressive camp and that translated to the field on Saturday night. He finished with 25 yards on 12 attempts and one touchdown. His average yards-per-carry was low (2.1), but he flashed his potential.

Evans had a nice cutback on a 3rd-and-1 and extended a drive in the first quarter. He also found the end zone in the first half.

He also had four receptions for 33 yards.

Jacques Patrick also had a successful night, finishing with 71 yards on 15 attempts. He helped seal the deal with a 24-yard run on 3rd-and-2 in the fourth quarter.

Turnovers

The Bengals turned the ball over on their first two possessions. First, Samaje Perine fumbled. Then, Mike Thomas put the ball on the ground.

Kyle Shurmur threw a pick-six to Joseph Jones in the fourth quarter, which allowed Tampa Bay to hang around.

Cincinnati did have two interceptions in the second half, but they still lost the turnover battle.

Sleeper at Wide Receiver

Trenton Irwin had a good night on offense, finishing with three receptions (five targets) for 35 yards.

He's played well in camp and is a dark horse candidate to make the 53-man roster.

Make sure you bookmark AllBengals for the latest training camp news, including exclusive interviews, highlights and so much more!

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