Preseason Week 3 Primer: Cincinnati Bengals (1-1) vs. New York Giants (2-0)

The Bengals finally get to open up in the Jungle for the first time in Zac Taylor’s tenure as head coach. You couldn’t ask for a better time either as the third preseason game is usually the one where the starters will see the most playing time before the regular season starts.

Last week, we saw Cincinnati pick up their first win of the preseason against Washington. It was a game where we saw plenty of laundry from the officials, and we may have left it with more questions about challenging pass interference than answers.

The Bengals get to face another NFC East team this week in the Giants. The biggest storyline there being what they will look like after trading Odell Beckham Jr. to Cleveland in the offseason, and how top 10 quarterback Daniel Jones will look (likely with the backups).

For the Bengals, this will be the fans’ first chance to see the starters play a meaningful amount of time. Sometimes teams will play their starters a drive into the second half to get players bodies ready for returning to play after halftime. We have seen in recent seasons some teams stray away from playing that long, but we should see a good quarter or two of play at least.

Despite that, fans shouldn’t try to gleam too much from this game or try to equate what happens on Thursday night over an entire season. Coaches are still holding back a good bit of the playbooks, and the emphasis is still to make it out of the game healthy.

It should still be exciting to see the starters play for more than a few series.

Everything you need to know for when the Bengals host the Giants:

Game: Cincinnati Bengals (1-1) vs New York Giants (2-0)

Date/Time: Aug. 22nd, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. EST

Location: Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio

Series Leader: Bengals, 6-4 (regular season)

Streak: The Giants won the last meeting

Coaches vs. Opponent: Zac Taylor: 0-0. Pat Shurmur 1-3

TV Broadcast: Live coverage on the Bengals Preseason Network with broadcasters Mike Watts (play-by-play), Anthony Munoz (analyst) and Solomon Wilcots (sideline reporter). The network is led by flagship WKRC-TV (CBS Channel 12) in Cincinnati. Also on the network are WKEF-TV (ABC Ch. 22) in Dayton, WSYX-TV (ABC Ch. 6) in Columbus, WLIO-TV (FOX Ch. 8.2) in Lima, WDKY-TV FOX Ch. 56) in Lexington, Ky. and WDRB-TV (FOX Ch. 41) in Louisville, Ky.

Radio Broadcast: The game will air on the Bengals Radio Network, led by Cincinnati flagship stations WCKY-AM (ESPN 1530; all sports) and WEBN-FM (102.7). Broadcasters are Dan Hoard (play-by-play) and Dave Lapham (analyst).

SB Nation Giants site: Big Blue View

Weather: Mis 70’s, partly cloudy [NFL weather]

Odds: Bengals, -1.5 [Odds Shark]

Bengals Notes

• Quarterback Ryan Finley leads the Bengals in passing during the preseason. He has 259 passing yards while completing 33 of 44 passes. He also has thrown three touchdowns and one interception. Andy Dalton has thrown for 116 yards on 12 of his 18 passes. He has yet to throw a touchdown, and last week he threw a pass that was tipped, intercepted and then returned for a touchdown.
• Running backs Joe Mixon and Giovani Bernard saw their first action last week. Both had one carry for three yards, but Mixon also had a first down run called back due to penalty. Rookie running back Jordan Ellis leads the team with 63 rushing yards on 18 carries. He is also tied for the leader in receiving yards with 63 on 10 receptions with one for a touchdown.
• Undrafted rookies Damion Willis and Stanley Morgan Jr. both have 63 receiving yard. Willis has done it on five catches while Morgan has six. Auden Tate is the only other receiver with over 50 receiver yards (58). He also caught a touchdown last week. Rookie tight end Drew Sample also caught a touchdown last week.
• Linebacker Jordan Evans and cornerback Darius Phillips lead the team with six tackles. Jordan Willis and Kerry Wynn recorded sacks last week. Willis also forced a fumble on his sack.