CINCINNATI – Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase looked like they time warped from January to Thursday night with an impressive two drives before things went south for the Cincinnati Bengals in their preseason-opening 34-27 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Those two are operating on a different grading scale, so it’s not even worth including them in this sock report.
They’re obviously already at ridiculous heights.
But for the rest of the team, here are the players whose stock stood out as either rising or falling after Thursday night’s performance.
Dylan Fairchild
The Bengals need Fairchild to do more than just win the starting job at left guard, which they essentially bequeathed to him on draft night.
Fairchild had a strong debut against the Eagles. Yes, they weren’t playing their starters, but they are the Super Bowl champions who rode a deep and versatile defense to the title.
PFF gave Fairchild the Bengals’ top run-blocking grade (84.9) and No. 3 pass-blocking grade (81.2).
On draft night, offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher said nastiness oozes out of Fairchild. He hasn’t stirred anything up in camp, which is smart for a rookie, but he was finishing blocks and mixing it up some with Eagles defenders after a few plays.
Shemar Stewart
Players like to talk about getting 1 percent better every day. Stewart appears to be blowing by that baseline.
He didn’t enter the game until the second quarter, but he was a disruptive factor during his 18 snaps with a tackle for loss and a pressure.
And the versatility that defensive coordinator Al Golden has been raving about was on display the instant Stewart entered the game, as his first rep came at defensive tackle on a third-and-5 play with the starting defense still in the game.
He certainly earned some more snaps with the first team in next week’s game at Washington, and with another solid week of practice, he might even warrant a chance to start against the Commanders.
Tahj Boyd
The numbers weren’t great – 26 yards on 10 carries and one catch for 3 yards – but Boyd’s physicality really stood out with how hard he ran and how willing he was to take on Philadelphia defenders.
Ultimately, the amount of playing time he gets a rookie could depend on how strong he is in pass protection.
Pro Football Focus gave Brooks the Bengals’ second-best pass blocking grade Thursday night behind Orlando Brown Jr.
Brooks only had four pass-blocking snaps, but making the most of opportunities carries a lot of weight for a rookie sixth-round pick.
Tanner Hudson
He became the first Bengals player in at least 10 years to score two offensive touchdowns in a preseason game when he caught a 12-yard pass from Burrow on the opening drive of the game and a 12-yarder from Desmond Ridder in the fourth quarter.
Both were impressive plays and showed off different skills as Hudson fought through contact and lunged for the goal line on the pass from Burrow, then made an athletic toe tap in the end zone on the ball from Ridder.
The signing of Noah Fant may not have put Hudson’s roster spot in jeopardy, but it certainly threatens to cut into his playing time. And he showed Thursday night he’s not giving up his reps without a fight.
Kris Jenkins
The second-year defensive tackle had five tackles and a pressure on just 14 snaps.
The Bengals are counting on last year’s second-round pick to make a leap this year after his rookie season was derailed by a slow start due to a broken hand.
DJ Ivey
Ivey had a rough night in multiple facets, giving up a touchdown in coverage, missing a tackle on a running play and lining up offsides on a missed field goal attempt, with Eagles kicker Jake Elliott taking advantage of the penalty to make the re-kick from five yards closer.
Ivey has been one of the biggest surprises in camp, and his spot on the 53-man is still secure given his role as one of the gunners on punt coverage and everything else he brings to special teams.
But with Cam Taylor-Britt, Dax Hill and Marco Wilson not playing Thursday, Ivey had a chance to prove he should be CB4.
It wasn’t all bad for Ivey, who played the second-most snaps on defense and had one of the team’s three pass breakups. But it wasn’t the kind of showing the 2023 seventh-round pick wanted to have.
Isaiah Williams
Williams is trying to win one of the final receiver jobs and with it a spot as a kickoff and/or punt returner.
While his 16-yard punt return and 26.5-yard average on two kick returns were solid enough, Williams had a third-down pass from Browning go right through his hands and nearly resulted in an interception.
It was his only target of the night.
Jake Browning
Pitcher could not have been more emphatic with his “Jake is the backup” comment at the pre-camp luncheon when asked about the addition of Desmond Ridder.
And there’s no reason to believe anything has changed after one preseason game.
But there was a surprising dip in play by Browning from what we saw at the end of 2024 when he took over following Burrow’s wrist injury.
Browning completed just 6 of 14 passes for 62 yards and threw an interception that set up a short field that the Eagles turned into a touchdown.
Jalen Rivers
The rookie fifth-round pick is trying to win the swing tackle job, but his struggles with speed rushers in practice showed again when he gave up an easy sack late in the third quarter, only to be bailed out by a defensive holding call in the secondary.
Rivers also had a holding penalty that wiped out a 10-yard run for Brooks.
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