NFL Power Rankings, Preseason Week 1: Rookie QBs steal the show

They knocked off the world champions!

Okay, so it was the preseason and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers left Tom Brady in for only one drive, but still, a win is important for a team that’s still growing. And that’s what the Cincinnati Bengals are — a young team trying to find their way in the NFL.

They’re also hoping to get their star quarterback Joe Burrow back for Week 1 of the regular season after he tore his ACL in 2020. In this one, Burrow didn’t dress but instead watched as Brandon Allen and Kyle Shurmur ran the offense.

They did get their first look at rookie receiver Ja’Marr Chase, who is expected to take a lot of the pressure off of Burrow’s shoulders, and while he had only one target, he did impress with that. Chase took a short pass — which was designed to have blockers in front of him ‚— and turned it into a 16-yard gain. They also had one completion for Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins, getting three catches from the big three.

On defense, the big highlight was rookie linebacker Joseph Ossai ending Brady’s night with a sack for an eight-yard loss. It was one of four sacks on the day but the one from Ossai was on a third-down against starters, which was encouraging.