Rival Report: Bengals lose to Colts; cut roster to 53
Thursday night’s game was the final dress rehearsal for the Cincinnati Bengals before roster cuts became part of the reality for players looking for a shot to play during the 2017 NFL regular season. The final preseason game is rarely a highlight moment, but there were some positive takeaways and some injuries that will play a big part in how the Bengals move forward.
Jordans make nice tag team
Two guys stood out on the Bengals defense during the preseason: Jordan Evans and Jordan Willis. Willis had arguably the best performance of any player on the roster, grabbing his fourth sack (one per game). Evans, a sixth-rounder in the 2017 NFL Draft, showed enough spark against the Colts that he earned a 96.2 grade from Pro Football Focus. He finished the night as the Bengals’ leading tackler with six total (three solo), a tackle for a loss, one quarterback hit, and two passes defensed.
A look at all the key information from the Indianapolis Colts 7-6 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals: https://t.co/okWeXa0v8e pic.twitter.com/t1nki7dPpI
— PFF (@PFF) September 1, 2017
Evans made a case for why he could be a factor for Cincinnati while Vontaze Burfict serves a three-game suspension to open the regular season. The former Oklahoma Sooner is quick and overcame early questions as to how physical he could be as a pro and improved his open-field tackling as well.
[Jordan Evans] demonstrated what we’ve seen from him the entire time. I can’t be more excited about a young player than I am about him – head coach Marvin Lewis
Both Jordans made it onto the Bengals’ initial 53-man roster, so expect to see more of this duo on the field mixing things up.
Williams hot RB Thursday, misses spot on roster
With fellow running back Tra Carson (who was placed on IR over the weekend) on the sidelines and the Bengals resting their top rushers in Giovani Bernard, Jeremy Hill and Joe Mixon, Jarveon Williams was able to net 117 yards on the ground in 27 carries and added five catches for 42 yards.
Outside of what Williams produced, the Bengals offense failed to get into the end zone against the Colts. The Bengals have struggled all preseason to score points with any frequency or urgency. Williams gave his best effort, but like so many players who face the roster trims, he had an uphill battle against three guys already secure in the run game.
Kicker controversy
The preseason has been a head-to-head battle between kickers Randy Bullock and Jake Elliott. Thursday night gave the fans who’ve been calling for Bullock’s release something to add to the arsenal as he missed a 47-yarder that would have given the Bengals the lead with less than two minutes left in the game. Elliott did not fare much better, missing two kicks; one from 46 yards and another from 60 yards.
Elliott did not fare much better, missing two kicks; one from 46 yards and another from 60 yards. His initial kick attempt would have been a 41-yarder but the Bengals were called for a false start penalty and he was unable to get all of the ball once it was placed.
Bullock has struggled at times and questions about the strength of his leg after being rotated between six different teams, including Cincinnati since 2012, made the competition heated. Despite drafting Elliott in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL Draft (the first kicker selected), he struggled as Bullock showed coach Lewis that he should win the roster spot.
Bullock outkicked Elliott by 15 percentage points … there’s a lot of data, a lot more data than you’re aware of … so we have to go by that or else there’s no reason to keep track of everything we do. – Marvin Lewis
Injury update
First round pick John Ross (WR) is expected to miss a couple weeks due to a knee sprain suffered in the final preseason game. Third string quarterback Jeff Driskel broke two fingers while being tackled and also a thumb.
https://twitter.com/JimOwczarski/status/903662547307520006
Driskel was having a decent preseason and is the only Bengals quarterback outside of Andy Dalton that is signed through 2019. A.J. McCarron isn’t signed for 2018 but may become a restricted free agent.
The injury complicates matters for the Bengals at the quarterback position, but Cincinnati is expected to move Driskel to IR on Monday. To make that happen, the Bengals had to place him on the initial 53-man roster to be eligible for a designation to return later in the season. Once he is placed on IR, the team can bring him back in Week 9 or later, and will have an open roster spot to fill with another player.
Tra Carson (HB/RB) and Mason Schreck will start the season on IR.
We've made the following 30 moves to reach the NFL roster limit of 53. #Bengals50 pic.twitter.com/idCZNFE6W5
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) September 2, 2017
The preseason's most productive WR on a per-route basis pic.twitter.com/C0VF4Zp90E
— PFF (@PFF) September 2, 2017
As expected @Bengals younger. Average experience is 3.8 years down from 4.55
— Geoff Hobson (@GeoffHobsonCin) September 2, 2017
