As of Right Now: The Bengals Look Terrible

By Adam Kiefaber

Fortunately, for the Cincinnati Bengals (0-2), the 27-19 loss to the New Orleans Saints (1-2) didn’t count.

That is the beauty of the preseason.

The Saints, who were playing in their third preseason, looked ready to start the regular season. The Bengals, on the other hand, did not.

In last week’s 26-27 loss to the Detroit Lions, quarterback Carson Palmer looked sharp and led Cincinnati to field goals on his two drives of the game. Statistically, he completed seven of 10 passes for 93 yards.

On Saturday, Palmer looked terrible. He completed five of 11 passes for 41 yards and fumbled the ball. Palmer played on four drives, leading Cincinnati to a 51-yard field goal once.

Bengal fans saw wide receiver Tab Perry for the first time since the second game of last season.

To say that Perry and Palmer ‘weren’t on the same page’, would be an understatement.

Perry was the intended receiver on five of Palmer’s six incompletions. It seemed as though the gameplan was to force it to Perry.

Palmer and Perry almost connected on two big plays.

Palmer tossed it up for Perry on a streak pattern down the sideline, but cornerback Mike McKenzie tipped it. Perry almost caught the ball after the tip. It could’ve been a 41-yard touchdown pass, however it turned out to be a solid play by a veteran CB.

Bengal fans almost went crazy when Perry was wide open for a 33-yard touchdown. On deep post pattern, Perry beat the secondary and Palmer overthrew him. On the next play, Palmer tossed a quick screen to Perry. Perry couldn’t handle the pass as he was hit right away by defensive back Jason David. The play occurred on third and 11. There was little to no chance that Perry would have been able to get the first down. The play was questionable and you could tell Cincinnati was forcing it to Perry.

For the game, Perry had two catches for 19 yards. Also, he had a nice nine-yard run on a reverse.

Later I will break down the positives and negatives of the game