Bengals stock report: Joe Burrow’s puzzling night plus 3 who impressed and 3 who struggled

The Cincinnati Bengals won a preseason game 31-17 on Monday night against the Washington Commanders. That result typically doesn’t matter, but the Bengals’ situation is far from typical.

This marked their first preseason victory since 2022, snapping a streak of seven straight games without a win. For a team battling a relentless storyline of seeking a fast start and a different feeling entering the first game of the season, pulling off a victory while Joe Burrow came away healthy (barely) was an important result.

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This game wasn’t just about Burrow, another clunker for the first-team defense or even the constant chatter about Trey Hendrickson’s contract on ESPN and the postgame press conferences.

This game’s star was only one man, and he wears No. 82.

Three who impressed

1. Mitch Tinsley. Lock it up. The 25-year-old receiver is making this team.

This wasn’t just about his two spectacular touchdown receptions (but for the record, holy guacamole). This declaration is about all Tinsley did to set up the opportunity to make those plays against his former team on Monday night. Tinsley has been applauded throughout camp for his work ethic and consistency, and he showed up regularly with big plays. He even came down with a two-on-one Hail Mary-esque throw in a recent practice. His performance had him running with the first team during certain practices. He earned the chance to prove he could make plays in the first half.

All of that said, it’s still hard to believe he went out and did that.

Have a drive, Mitch Tinsley! His third catch of the drive is a TD 🙌 Watch on ESPN

Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/67SMjWO3v8 — NFL (@NFL) August 19, 2025

“Baller,” coach Zac Taylor said after the game.

Those were the types of catches that win games on Sundays. His back-shoulder catch was the execution of a Burrow staple throw, fully based on trust. Then the leap in the back of the end zone could only remind me of how many times Burrow says, “I’ll always give my guy a chance.” Burrow shouted Tinsley out, unsolicited, weeks ago in a press conference, so we know the respect level is there. By the time the quarterback was being interviewed on ESPN in the second half, he was putting on his general manager hat.

“Hopefully, he secured a spot for us,” Burrow said. “He’s a guy you can really count on. You have a guy you can trust like that. It’s very valuable.”

If he’s not, he’s being shopped as trade bait for defensive help to a receiver-needy club, because 31 other teams would love to have what Tinsley put on tape Monday.

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2. Charlie Jones. The real battle in the receiver room this year wasn’t for the third or fourth spot. Andrei Iosivas and Mike Gesicki had those locked up. The contest would be for the fifth position between Jones, Jermaine Burton, Isaiah Williams and anyone else. Jones won it going away. He came off a fantastic week of practices in which he regularly worked open and made tough catches by doing more of the same on Monday night.

He was out there catching passes from Burrow when Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase went to the bench following the first series. He ended up with four receptions for 32 yards, culminating with a 13-yard touchdown reception from Burrow in the tightest of windows.

Joe Burrow with a dart to Charlie Jones for six! 🎯 Watch on ESPN

Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/71FYimTSSP — NFL (@NFL) August 19, 2025

On top of that, Jones opened the game with an explosive 30-yard kickoff return. He will be the starting punt and kickoff returner, and the Bengals can have confidence that Jones will keep the chains moving if an injury occurs with any of the four in front of him. He needs to stay healthy, which has derailed so many positive runs for him in his career.

3. Barrett Carter. Turnovers will be placed on a pedestal by this defensive staff. Coordinator Al Golden mentions “ball disruption” as much as any phrase in his coaching lexicon. Carter made an instinctive break on the ball for his interception in the second quarter. He was able to read the quarterback and receiver to jump the route and set up the score just before halftime.

The fourth-round pick has many fans on this staff, and there’s a path where you see him starting games this season if injury or poor play derails Logan Wilson or Demetrius Knight Jr.

Three who struggled

1. Bengals’ first-team defense. It wouldn’t be fair to single out just one player. This latest disaster belongs to everyone. For the second straight game, this wasn’t just about giving up explosive plays or long runs. This was about being butter soft at the point of attack and leaving massive tracts of land open for big gains on the ground. The 19-yard jet sweep by Deebo Samuel and the 40-yard run off tackle by Chris Rodriguez had hardly any contact until they were well into the second level. Then, more of the same came on Jayden Daniels’ scramble touchdown and the completely non-competitive rep on a 27-yard touchdown run by Bill Croskey-Merritt.

Confirmed: Jayden Daniels is still ELECTRIC ⚡️ Watch on ESPN

Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/oiFlJfX4XP — NFL (@NFL) August 19, 2025

Taylor didn’t voice much concern postgame, citing the success he’s seen during camp practices where the defense has won its fair share of days.

“It’s preseason,” he said. “I feel really excited about where our defense is at. We go against them every day. It’s tough. We’ll continue to fix things we need to fix from the preseason game. We practice against them every single day. I love where our defense is at. There’s a lot of things that give the offense a really hard time right now.”

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The second-team defense settled down and played better. Cool. The Bengals were missing a few players. Cool. The defense has played much better in practices using the full scheme. Cool.

Bottom line: The Bengals’ starting defense in both games was absolutely blown away at the point of attack. That’s not something you can truly test in camp.

This was the problem they hoped to fix this offseason, with all due respect to their lack of pass rush. Director of player personnel Duke Tobin felt adding TJ Slaton, valuing linebackers, bringing back B.J. Hill and drafting Shemar Stewart could go a long way toward creating more third-and-long situations where the team could rush the passer.

Early indications suggest they are still getting manhandled up front. The Commanders were averaging 17.7 yards per carry against the starters.

No matter what happens in practice or Saturday’s exhibition against Indianapolis, this team still will look wildly understaffed on the defensive line. Maybe schemes and full health can help, but this solidified that the Bengals have a potentially fatal flaw on their hands. You can’t get owned at the point of attack and win in this league, and you certainly can’t expect to do so in the AFC North.

2. Jordan Battle. The one safety the Bengals exhibited confidence in during the offseason found himself in the middle of multiple embarrassing moments. His non-effort in trying to tackle Daniels on the touchdown run looked as if he still thought this was a thud session in training camp. Battle failed to fill the hole properly on Rodriguez’s long run, allowing the back to go for 40 yards.

Battle is viewed as a reason why this defense will be improved in his third season; he can’t be yet another liability back there like he was on Monday.

3, Lucas Patrick. Midway through the second drive, after Burrow ran circles around the backfield and took his first big hit of the preseason, Patrick was out of the game. Rookie fifth-round pick Jalen Rivers entered in his place.

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After the game, Taylor said Patrick is “dinged” but didn’t go into more detail. How much of it is a previous injury Patrick has been fighting since the beginning of camp, and how much of it was aggravated on Monday, is an important distinction here.

By any stretch, this was a notable development. The nine-year veteran has been a weak link throughout camp and was just replaced by a fifth-round rookie who just moved from tackle to guard with Burrow still in the game behind him. Oh, by the way, free agent Dalton Risner is coming to Cincinnati on a visit this week.

We’ll see where Patrick’s role goes from here, but this was yet another day where confidence in his ability to properly protect Burrow came into question.

One who provoked a question

Joe Burrow. That question: What the hell are you doing, Joe? Watching Burrow run around like he was being attacked by bees in the backfield might have left more than a few pairs of underwear soiled in the Greater Cincinnati area.

That drive, which included another sack where Burrow was tossed like a rag doll, was exactly what Bengals fans did not want to see.

Joe Burrow is sacked by the Commanders in the first half on Monday night. (Amber Searls / Imagn Images)

Here’s the thing, though. That moment is exactly the type of experience Burrow wanted to get out of his system before the season finale.

“For him, that’s what preseason football is for,” Taylor said. “Do I love seeing that? No, I don’t. But at the same time, he’s out there learning what he can and can’t do. We’ve seen him get out of that stuff before. That’s why he’s playing in the preseason. Chance to feel what it’s like to feel a game. There’s times he’s going to get out of it and get a big play and times we are in a tough spot on the 2-yard line. He gets a chance to feel all that and learn from it.”

In bigger news, Burrow was asked about Hendrickson’s contract situation in the wake of reports circulating about the Bengals continuing to listen to trade offers for the NFL sack king. It’s still highly unlikely Cincinnati will receive its high asking price, which The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reported as a young defensive player and 2026 first-round pick. That’s just not happening. What is happening? In Burrow’s eyes, the Bengals are following the same timeline they did in the last two major negotiations.

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“I think historically these deals with us have gotten done closer to Week 1,” Burrow said. “I signed the Thursday before the first game. Ja’Marr started to pick up that week before last year, too … historically, the way we have done business, that tends to pick up here in the next two weeks, so, we’ll see.”

As usual, Burrow knows what he’s talking about. This is how the Bengals have always done business, and this still feels like a deal that gets done and goes right up to the deadline of Week 1. Burrow essentially said as much on Monday.

(Top photo of Mitch Tinsley: Amber Searls / Imagn Images)

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