Cincinnati Bengals Preseason 2018: Reviewing players to watch vs. Bears

Looking back at the Players To Watch from Week 1 of the 2018 preseason for the Cincinnati Bengals and how they performed against the Bears.

Every week of the 2018 preseason (and likely the regular season as well), we’ll be spotlighting some of the players to keep an eye on in the Cincinnati Bengals’ upcoming matchup of the week.

To go along with that, we’ll also be revisiting those players spotlighted and seeing how much of an impact they actually had (if any).

Let’s start by checking back on the players spotlighted for Cincinnati in their preseason Week 1 contest against the Chicago Bears.

John Ross

It was a mixed bag for the former first-round pick. On one hand, he did show off that record-setting speed, which gave him one of the big plays early in the game, catching the ball on a two-yard hitch, quickly cutting back on Prince Amukamara and bursting past him for a 20-yard gain before Eddie Jackson forced him out of bounds.

On the other, the second-year player was directly at fault for the only misstep by Cincinnati’s starting offense. When Dalton threw the interception which Kyle Fuller returned for a touchdown on the Bengals’ second drive, he was targeting Ross on the play. Had things worked as expected on the play, Ross would’ve been able to slow down, catch the ball right in front of the defender, and either get tackled for a decent gain or perhaps even blow past his pursuer for an even bigger play. Instead, he slipped when slowing on his route, causing him to fall to the ground and give Fuller an easy catch that turned into a touchdown.

Ross has plenty more to prove, but there’s more than enough to stay excited about regarding the young wide receiver. The mistakes may take some time to exorcise, but even so, his high-end potential is plenty enough to keep people excited.

Jake Fisher

Fisher has been through plenty just to be where he is now, and his persistence to return from the heart issues which put his career in jeopardy could be rewarded — and rightfully so. Though his poor play through most of his career has made his initial draft selection rightfully be judged as a bad decision, of the players in tow right now, he’s making a case to be worthy of another shot as a starter at tackle.

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He didn’t start this game, and if he were a starter come the regular season, he wouldn’t be playing at the same position he got time at against Chicago (left tackle, with the second unit), but the time he got was enough to show that he may be the best option for the right tackle spot on Cincinnati’s roster.

Fisher had at least one poor moment, allowing Chicago backup Kasim Edebali to easily beat him inside and hit Matt Barkley as he threw a pass. But for the most part he did a decent job as a blocker. He should still be ahead of fellow 2015 tackle draftee Cedric Ogbuehi (prior to his heart issues last season, Fisher — while not good — was consistently less awful than Ogbuehi), and while newcomer Bobby Hart was given the start at right tackle, he’s never proven to actually be any better than Fisher and has a lower ceiling as a player.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the Bengals use every week this preseason to switch up the configuration of the right side of the line, even possibly starting different players at right guard and tackle in all three of their remaining preseason contests. At least one of those time should see Fisher inserted as the first-team right tackle. Should he impress (or just simply not mess up spectacularly), it may secure his fate as a starter in the best way possible.

Jonathan Brown

Not much to take away from this game for Brown in his fight to unseat Randy Bullock for the kicker spot with the team. Both were able to get some kicking in during the contest, but neither did anything to really help or hurt their cause.

Each had three kickoffs, and the results were essentially the exact same: two touchbacks and a return from midway in the end zone which was returned within the Chicago 20-yard line (Bullock technically did one yard better: his returned kick came to the 17-yard line, while Brown’s went to the 18).

As for the field goals, there were three to dole out. Bullock got two, Brown got one. All three were made with ease, but none were particularly impressive (all were under 30-yard attempts). The only real difference between the two here was that due to there being an odd number of field goals attempted, somebody was going to end up with more opportunities. Of course, the incumbent got the go-ahead.

Brown is doing everything right to give himself a chance. The circumstances aren’t entirely in his control, however; if things continue in the vein of this contest, as the incumbent Bullock will win out easily.

For him to break through, things out of his control must happen. That could include Brown by chance getting handed preseason field goal attempts of longer distances than Bullock (and making them), Bullock missing a handful of kicks (the shorter, the more damaging) while Brown doesn’t, and/or Bullock coming away with some sort of injury. The latter is not something to root for, but it is a possible reality and unfortunately may be the most likely way through for Brown at this point. All he can do though is keep putting in his best efforts and hope things work out.