Cincinnati Bengals: Big takeaways from Preseason Week 3

Looking at the major takeaways from the Cincinnati Bengals’ victory over the Buffalo Bills in Week 3 of the 2018 preseason.

The Cincinnati Bengals marched forward to 3-0 in the 2018 preseason with a 26-13 victory over the Buffalo Bills added to their tally.

As usual, the third preseason game saw the expcted starters for the teams get in the most snaps they’ll see until the games actually matter. Here, we got our best glimpse of what the Bengals will be working with on their roster as they prepare to enter the franchise’s 51st season since their inception.

Here are some quick takeaways from the game.

The Defensive Line Is A Powerhouse

We talked about it last week, but this group is so strong it bears mention yet again. Following a five-sack effort against Dallas, Cincinnati one-upped themselves with six of them against Buffalo. In some ways, it may be even more impressive.

While Buffalo is destined to be one of the NFL’s worst offensive lines this season, unlike the game against Dallas this was a game where each team played their starters much more (as teams usually do in the third preseason contest). Dallas may have more overall line talent, but when measuring starters vs backups, even bad starters tend to offer a certain degree of higher competition and skill than most backup options.

Based on the domination here though, the level of competition may not even make a difference. Geno Atkins was his usual wrecking ball self, collecting a half-sack and a QB hit, but causing much more mayhem than a mere stat sheet could ever hope to show. Second-year pass-rusher extraordinaire Carl Lawson continued adding to a strong preseason (previous two games: one sack, one tackle for loss, 4 QB hits) with his best showing in his warm-up action so far: 2.5 sacks, two tackles for loss, three QB hits.

Meanwhile, Andrew Billings put in his second-straight great preseason effort and is showing some surprising pass-rush chops for an expected space eater (1.5 sacks, one tackle for loss, two QB hits). Jordan Willis continued making his case for a bigger role in his second year with a half-sack and a QB hit to add to his nice preseason tallies so far (through three preseason games: 2.5 sacks, two tackles for loss, four QB hits).

Those players alone make the line a great unit, but it doesn’t even end there. Carlos Dunlap is still one of the most consistent pass rushers in the NFL and will be the top option for the team in that area yet again. Sam Hubbard gives the team another young pass rusher who can contribute now and be a building block for the future. Ryan Glasgow has fought hard with Billings for the starting defensive tackle nod alongside Atkins, and even assuming he loses that battle he’s going to be an important part of the rotation in the middle.

The defensive line for Cincinnati was already strong throughout much of 2017. In 2018, it has the depth and ability to become a top five unit.