Joe Burrow throws a pass against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, photo comes from the Bengals on X.

by Chris Ball

Loveland, Ohio – once the clock hit zero against the Cleveland Browns in the final regular season game last year, another one started in the minds of Cincinnati Bengals fans. The countdown this time was to the moment when we’d all see a healthy Joe Burrow take the field in a Bengals uniform to take part in real game action. And on Saturday, those wishes were granted, if only for one magical series.

It was a series that saw Cincinnati’s franchise quarterback go 5-7 for 51 yards in total that had a little bit of everything. It included a near-touchdown deep down the middle to Tee Higgins that Burrow almost fit in between the tightest double coverage imaginable. It was more evidence of the pinpoint accuracy that we’ve all come to expect from him and yet another sign that he’s suffering no ill effects from his injury last year. And although that pass didn’t result in a score, after the Bengals marched down the field he was able to find Higgins again just short of the goal line, but the franchise-tagged wide receiver pulled a nice move to shake the Buccaneer’s Josh Hayes and sauntered into the end zone for the team’s first touchdown of the year.

All in all the first and only drive with the starters went for 12 plays and covered 73 yards. Burrow looked comfortable in the pocket and was rarely bothered. It was a testament to how prepared the offensive line looked, and the pair of tackles in Orlando Brown, Jr. and rookie Amarius Mims stood tall against the Tampa Bay defense. The reviews of Mims’ play especially were very positive as it appears that he could be far ahead of schedule in terms of his development. When he was drafted out of Georgia there were questions as to just how long it might take for him to be NFL-ready given that his starting career in college was not as robust as other top picks. With each snap he plays in practice and in games like this, Amarius Mims is proving he is ready for primetime and could end up being the Bengals’ right tackle of the future.

Mims wasn’t the only Bengals rookie to make waves. Jermaine Burton hauled in 3 catches for 82 yards including a 38-yard touchdown. The pass was an absolute dot by backup quarterback Logan Woodside (who also had a very nice game with 149 yards passing and a 137.2 rating) but it was Burton’s double move that really freed him up to make the catch. With Tee Higgins likely departing after this season, Bengals fans have to be giddy with the talent and potential in a wide receiver trio of Chase, Iosivas and Burton.

The Bengals starting defense also started strong, pressing the Buccaneers’ backups into a 3 and out on the first drive. After that, Tampa Bay’s offense gained good chunks of yards and managed some big plays. Without Sheldon Rankins and BJ Hill in the middle of the defensive line the rush defense left a little to be desired. But Dax Hill looked right at home at cornerback after switching positions from safety and had 3 passes broken up and even a near interception (which should have been challenged after being ruled incomplete). The biggest defensive story of the night was linebacker Maema Njongmeta, an undrafted free agent from Wisconsin, who lead the team with 10 total tackles.

Although the Bengals didn’t manage to pull out the win, winning isn’t necessarily the most important thing in these preseason games. Most importantly, Joe Burrow and the offense looked in sync, which is the direct result of their major contributors being healthy and in camp together. They also escaped the game with those key players healthy and ready for the next game, which will be against the Chicago Bears on August 17 at 1:00 PM.

As for the Cincinnati Reds, they had their own titanic struggle to face this weekend. The Milwaukee Brewers were coming off of a series against the Atlanta Braves where they amassed 52 hits, 34 runs, and 8 home runs. The Brewers carried that fire into their series with the Reds, scoring 8 runs in the first win of the 3-game set. Milwaukee torched Carson Spiers for those 8 runs in just 5 innings before the bullpen took over. The trio of Jakob Junis, Fernando Cruz and Yosver Zulueta stepped in and held the Brewers hitless over the final 3 innings of the game.

In game 2 it was yet another story of the Reds bats going missing in action. Cincinnati actually out-hit Milwaukee 3-2 but managed to score a grand total of zero runs. The difference in their 1-0 loss was a solo home run by Rhys Hoskins in the bottom of the 8th inning. It was also another tragic tale of a waste of a gem of an outing by a Reds pitcher. This time the victim was Nick Martinez, who has turned out to be one of the teams best signings in recent memory. Though not technically a starter he filled in as one in game 2 and threw 7 innings of 1-hit baseball and has been a pitcher who has started games, came in relief, and whatever was asked of him, has answered the call.

Game 3 was a bit of a different story. The Brewers jumped out to a 2-0 lead and the Reds could have folded, but they managed to tie it up in the fourth inning. They then took the lead in the 5th after a Tyler Stephenson solo home run. Milwaukee, like the great team they are, refused to go away and tied it again in the bottom of the 6th and the Reds had yet another chance to pack it in and let another game slip away. But they continued to fight and went out ahead 4-3 on a Spencer Steer sacrifice fly that was nearly a grand slam. Alexis Diaz then came in in the bottom of the 9th and shut the Brewers down to preserve the win in just 14 tidy pitches with 2 strikeouts.

The Brewers series gave Reds fans a little bit of everything in terms of emotions. Cincinnati battled back after being shell shocked a bit in game 1. Game 2 showed that Nick Martinez is a solid piece of this pitching staff in a variety of roles. Game 3 showed that this team still has plenty of fight left in it, even if things get tough. Although the 2024 playoffs might be out of reach for them, the team has plenty left to prove and to fight for, and Reds fans will have a plethora of highlights left to cheer for before the clock strikes midnight on this baseball season.

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Christopher Ball is a longtime Loveland resident and an attorney. He graduated from Loveland High School in 2003 and was a member of the football team before going on to become a coach’s assistant at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. He has been following and rooting for the Reds and Bengals since the early 1990s and has been through the many ups and downs that fandom has wrought over the years.

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