Bengals Dominate Bears 27-9: Rising Stars Shine as Roster Decisions Loom

Article Summary:
Cincinnati’s 27-9 preseason victory over Chicago strengthened the roster cases of Josh Johnson, Colbie Young, Dohnte Meyers, and Landon Robinson. Their performances also complicated the Bengals’ final decisions at quarterback, wide receiver, and defensive line ahead of the August 30 cutdown.

The Cincinnati Bengals are 2-0 in the preseason, and after Saturday night’s convincing 27-9 victory over the Chicago Bears, the biggest question isn’t whether the Bengals have talent.

It’s how in the world they are going to fit all of these players onto the final roster.

For the second straight week, the Bengals’ roster crunch gave Cincinnati’s young players a chance to prove themselves. This preseason has really highlighted some of the key Bengals roster battles as players compete for their spots. With Joe Burrow and Joe Flacco sitting out, the Bengals still controlled the game from the opening kickoff, getting strong quarterback play, explosive performances from their young receivers, and another impressive showing from several defensive players fighting for jobs.

The final score was 27-9, but the most important story was the growing competition for the final roster spots that fans were already debating at bars and Bengals watch parties across Cincinnati.

Some players are making their cases stronger every week.

Others may be running out of time.

Josh Johnson Steals the Show

The star of the night might have been the 40-year-old quarterback.

Josh Johnson was outstanding.

Johnson completed 15 of 23 passes for 156 yards, two touchdowns, and a 113.7 quarterback rating, per the official box score, a line that checks out exactly against the NFL’s own passer-rating formula. One touchdown came from rookie receiver Colbie Young from 17 yards out. The other went to tight end Tanner Hudson on a six-yard slant before halftime. He also added seven rushing yards and kept the Bengals offense moving throughout the first half.

More importantly, Johnson looked comfortable.

He made quick decisions, spread the football around, and gave Cincinnati’s young receivers opportunities to make plays. What he didn’t look like was a quarterback simply trying to survive the preseason. He looked like a veteran who understands exactly where the football needs to go.

That raises an interesting question for the Bengals.

Could Josh Johnson have trade value?

Cincinnati has a crowded quarterback room with Burrow entrenched as the starter and Flacco serving as the veteran backup, a room made more flexible by the cap-space restructuring the team already worked out this offseason. If the Bengals believe Sean Clifford can eventually land on the practice squad, Johnson could become an interesting player to move rather than simply release.

At the very least, Johnson has made the decision more difficult.

Colbie Young and Dohnte Meyers Are Making It Hard to Cut Them

If there is one roster battle Bengals fans need to watch closely, it’s at wide receiver.

And after Saturday night, Colbie Young and Dohnte Meyers may have moved themselves toward the front of the line.

Young finished with three catches for 48 yards and a touchdown. His 17-yard touchdown gave Cincinnati a 10-6 lead, while a difficult toe-tap catch for a first down showed off the type of body control and playmaking ability that coaches love to see. At 6-foot-4, Young has already flashed that size in practice. He went up over cornerback Josh Newton for a leaping grab from Joe Flacco during the team’s first padded workout of camp. Cincinnati drafted Young in the fourth round out of Georgia this year, so his contract carries little of the guaranteed money that would make cutting him expensive.

Meyers was just as impressive.

He caught five passes for 41 yards and added a nine-yard jet-sweep carry, all after a football path that ran through the Canadian Football League’s Saskatchewan Roughriders rather than a major American college program. That path also means he arrived with no draft status and no guaranteed money that comes with it. Meyers may have helped himself even more on special teams, where he also drew return duty.

That could be his ticket onto the roster.

When teams are deciding between their fifth, sixth or seventh receivers, versatility matters. Meyers isn’t simply making plays at receiver. He’s showing the Bengals he can contribute in the return game.

That’s difficult to ignore, and it matters more for a player with no draft status backing him up.

The Wide Receiver Room Is Becoming a Numbers Game

Young and Meyers weren’t the only receivers making plays.

Ke’Shawn Williams also worked his way into the game plan. Charlie Jones added a 26-yard catch on a deep ball from Clifford. Jordan Moore, Mitch Tinsley and Noah Thomas all contributed, with Thomas catching a 20-yard touchdown.

That’s the problem.

Or, more accurately, that’s a good problem for Cincinnati.

There simply aren’t enough roster spots for everyone. Cincinnati’s own offseason preview counted a dozen wide receivers in camp behind Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins alone.

Players such as Young and Meyers are trending upward, but the competition puts pressure on others. Charlie Jones has NFL experience and has shown he can contribute, but every young receiver making plays makes securing his roster spot more difficult.

The Bengals aren’t cutting players because they haven’t produced.

They may have to cut good players because someone else has produced more.

That is exactly the kind of competition Cincinnati wants heading into the regular season.

Sean Clifford Also Helped Himself

Johnson got most of the attention, but Sean Clifford played well, too.

Clifford completed 10 of 15 passes for 126 yards and a touchdown, but he also threw an interception that Chicago safety Skyler Thomas picked off at midfield, according to the Bears’ own recap. Include that interception in the passer-rating math and Clifford’s number for the night comes out closer to 87, a real number rather than just the flattering half of his line. He still used his legs to extend drives. Perhaps most importantly, neither quarterback took a sack all night.

Clifford doesn’t necessarily have to beat out Johnson for a spot on the 53-man roster.

His job may be to convince Cincinnati that he’s worth keeping around.

A strong preseason could make the Bengals comfortable placing him on the practice squad, assuming he clears waivers. Either way, he’s done enough to keep himself in the conversation.

Landon Robinson Is Becoming a Real Roster Candidate

At some point, we have to stop calling Landon Robinson a surprise.

The young defensive lineman is simply making plays.

Again.

Robinson finished with one and a half sacks, multiple quarterback hits, a pass defended, and a tackle for loss. Isaiah Foskey added the other half of that shared sack, as Cincinnati’s defensive front consistently found ways to create pressure.

Robinson has now put together back-to-back impressive preseason performances, and that matters.

Robinson is fighting for his job on a defensive line Cincinnati rebuilt this offseason with real money and draft capital. The Bengals traded a first-round pick for Dexter Lawrence II and signed Jonathan Allen in free agency, adding both to returning veterans B.J. Hill and T.J. Slaton Jr. Kris Jenkins Jr., McKinnley Jackson and Jordan Jefferson are still developing behind that group. A seventh-round rookie has to outplay players with far more security just to hang on. The more plays he makes, the more difficult it becomes for Cincinnati to leave him off the final 53, especially with his rookie contract carrying none of the guaranteed money that protects a veteran.

At this point, Robinson may actually be playing his way ahead of some players who entered camp with a clearer path to the roster.

Tacario Davis Keeps Getting Reps

Tacario Davis continued to see extensive playing time in the secondary Saturday night.

That’s an encouraging sign for a young player trying to establish himself in a crowded cornerback room.

The Bengals also got contributions from their special teams players, with several young defenders making tackles and helping themselves in one of the most important areas of preseason evaluation.

Because here’s the reality for the bottom half of the roster:

You don’t make an NFL team by being a good backup.

You make an NFL team by giving coaches a reason to put you on the field.

For many of these players, that means special teams.

What Worked: The Bengals Controlled the Game

The Bengals did a lot right.

Quarterback Play

Johnson and Clifford combined for 282 passing yards and three touchdowns, and neither quarterback took a sack.

That’s a successful night, even counting Clifford’s one interception.

The Young Receivers

The depth at receiver is becoming impossible to ignore. Young and Meyers were the stars, but multiple players contributed throughout the game.

Defensive Pressure

Landon Robinson continued to stand out, while Foskey added a half-sack and the defense repeatedly found ways to get off the field.

Chicago starter Caleb Williams played the Bears’ opening series and moved the ball into Cincinnati territory. A holding penalty on left tackle Braxton Jones helped stall that drive at a 45-yard field goal. Chicago had difficulty turning yards into touchdowns the rest of the way. The one exception was a 36-yard completion that beat cornerback Josh Newton downfield, the same rookie corner Colbie Young had already burned in a padded practice back in camp. Cincinnati’s defense bent, but it didn’t break.

Evan McPherson

Money Mac stayed hot.

McPherson made both of his field-goal attempts, including a 58-yard field goal, continuing a strong preseason and reminding everyone that Cincinnati still has one of the NFL’s best long-range kicking weapons.

Offensive Line Play

There were penalties, but the overall performance was encouraging.

Brian Parker II continued to show promise at both guard and center; rookie Connor Lew got extended run at center with 16 snaps on the opening drive alone, and neither drew significant negative attention. Right guard Cody Ford supplied the one clear blemish, picking up two holding penalties and two false starts in the first half.

Most importantly, the quarterbacks weren’t touched.

That’s always a good place to start.

What Didn’t Work?

The Bengals dominated the game, but there are still questions.

The first is swing tackle.

Cincinnati is still searching for a reliable backup tackle, and the competition remains unsettled. Javon Foster has been in the mix at right tackle, while the battle for OT3 remains open.

That’s not a minor concern.

The Bengals have invested heavily in protecting Joe Burrow, and injuries happen. They need to know they have someone capable of stepping in if Orlando Brown Jr. or Amarius Mims misses time.

Right now, that answer isn’t completely clear.

The other major question is RB3.

Tahj Brooks saw a share of the work at running back, but the competition for the job remains unsettled. The Bengals have yet to see someone completely seize the third running back position.

That job may still be available heading into next week’s preseason finale against the Eagles.

Who Could Be in Trouble?

This is where the Bengals roster crunch gets interesting.

The players most in danger may not be those who played poorly.

They may simply be players getting passed by.

At wide receiver, every strong performance from Young, Meyers, Williams, Jones, Moore, Tinsley, and Thomas makes the numbers tighter.

At quarterback, Johnson’s performance creates an interesting decision. If the Bengals don’t plan to keep three quarterbacks, Cincinnati could trade or release him despite his strong play.

At defensive line, Robinson’s emergence could make the competition uncomfortable for players who entered camp with a stronger reputation but haven’t been as noticeable during the preseason.

And at offensive tackle, the Bengals still have decisions to make. Foster and others are competing for a swing role, but nobody has completely locked it down.

That calculus is sharpest for the players with no leverage. Young, Lew and Robinson are all fourth-round picks or later, and Meyers signed with no draft status at all after his run in the CFL, so none of their contracts carry the guaranteed money that makes a front office hesitate before cutting them. Cincinnati has to trim to 53 players by August 30, which gives all of them exactly one more game to make their case.

One More Game, Several Unsettled Jobs

By the time Cincinnati meets Philadelphia in the preseason finale, the score will matter less than where Young and Meyers line up on special teams, whether Robinson can disrupt another offensive line and which reserve tackle the coaches trust with Burrow’s blind side.

The Chicago game clarified some of those decisions without settling them. Johnson showed that the Bengals have a capable third quarterback, though keeping him would cost them depth elsewhere. Young supplied another example of the size and body control that made him a draft pick. Meyers strengthened his case by contributing as a receiver, runner, and return option. Robinson made himself difficult to hide on the practice squad.

There is a reasonable limit to the enthusiasm. Chicago removed most of its starters early, and Cincinnati’s best stretches came against players fighting for jobs of their own. The Bengals did not prove that their reserves are ready to handle regular-season assignments. They did show that several of them deserve longer consideration than the roster can accommodate.

That leaves the front office with a week of trade calls, waiver projections, and special-teams evaluations before the August 30 cutdown. Saturday’s 27-9 victory supplied no standings value. At Paycor Stadium, it did change the evidence Cincinnati will use to choose its final 53.

FAQs

Why didn't Joe Burrow or Joe Flacco play against the Bears?

Cincinnati rested both of its top two quarterbacks entirely, using the game to get an extended look at backups Josh Johnson and Sean Clifford as the Bengals finalize roster decisions before the August 30 cutdown.

What was Josh Johnson's stat line against the Bears?

Johnson completed 15 of 23 passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns without an interception, a line that computes to a 113.7 passer rating under the NFL’s official formula.

Who intercepted Sean Clifford in the Bengals-Bears preseason game?

Chicago safety Skyler Thomas intercepted a Clifford pass at midfield in the second half, the one turnover in an otherwise efficient outing for the rookie quarterback.

When do the Bengals have to cut their roster to 53 players in 2026?

Cincinnati and every other NFL team must trim to a 53-man roster by 4 p.m. on August 30, 2026. One more preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles comes before that deadline.

Who is Dohnte Meyers and why does his performance matter?

Meyers is a wide receiver who signed with Cincinnati after playing in the Canadian Football League with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. That path means he carries no draft status and no guaranteed money, so every catch he makes factors directly into a roster decision with almost no financial cushion behind it.