Cincinnati Bengals: Big takeaways from Preseason Week 2
By Kenn Korb
Looking at the major takeaways from the Cincinnati Bengals’ victory over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 2 of the 2018 preseason.
The Cincinnati Bengals continued their successful preseason with a second victory, this time a 21-13 win over the Dallas Cowboys.
While the usual starters only played about three drives, with many roster spots still undecided we got to see players making their respective cases for earning a coveted place among the final 53 once the regular season gets underway.
Here are some quick takeaways from the game.
Young DEs Ready For Bigger Roles
Before the team fell completely out of playoff contention due to mounting injuries and offensive ineffectiveness, the pressure brought on by Cincinnati’s defensive front was among the best in the entire league. Even with things slowing down towards the end of the year, Cincinnati’s defense still finished the season with 41 sacks (tied with Baltimore for 11th in the league).
The team is shaping up to have another strong year in that area, fueled by the progress of their young pass rushing talents. Those young players have been on full display this preseason. Carl Lawson — who had 8.5 sacks as a rookie last season — picked up a sack and two QB hits against Dallas (as well as two QB hits against Chicago). Fellow 2017 draftee Jordan Willis had two sacks this week, and another QB hit the week before. 2018 third-round selection Sam Hubbard has gotten in on the action as well with a sack of his own versus the Cowboys.
Carlos Dunlap is still the top pass rusher for this team, but the snaps beyond him are clearly up for grabs. Michael Johnson already was losing DE snaps in 2017 (both through playing less and sliding inside on third downs) and should continue to see his role lessen. Lawson already had a decent role last season, but that could increase going forward. Willis could see a huge leap if his pass rushing is about to step to the level of his run defense.
If the Hubbard we saw against Dallas is consistently available too, the pass rush group may go five deep for Cincinnati this year, with the potential for three of the top four snap collectors on the edge all being first- or second-year players — and depending how things go, with Johnson possibly pushed off the roster altogether.