Photo courtesy of the Cincinnati Bengals on X: https://x.com/Bengals/status/1826408949022634383

by Chris Ball

Loveland, Ohio – The last preseason game of the year is always one of the most interesting to watch for die-hard fans because of the players fighting to fill out the last few roster spots. Surely Bengals fans are rooting hard for Maema Njongmeta, the rookie linebacker out of Wisconsin, who has made some great plays so far and even leads the team in tackles. On the other end of the spectrum, it’s fair to wonder if this might be the end of the road for former second-round pick Jackson Carman.

In addition, Joseph Ossai should get important snaps in the contest given the injury to Myles Murphy that he suffered in the joint practice on Tuesday. In addition, Dax Hill and DJ Turner have had an epic camp battle to determine who will start at the second cornerback spot opposite Cam Taylor-Britt. So it will be interesting to see if both continue to see snaps in order to declare a winner for the job, or if one of them sits out because the decision has been made. Either way, if one of them takes the field against Indianapolis those reps will be well worth watching.

Whomever takes the field on Thursday night at Paycor Stadium it will no doubt be an informative night, and most importantly we will move one week closer to the return of Cincinnati Bengals football.

Speaking of Myles Murphy, Cincinnati Bengals fans got a bit of good injury news on Wednesday with respect to Myles Murphy. Murphy left with a leg injury during Tuesday’s practice with the Colts which left fans plenty nervous. However, James Rapien and Mike Garafalo broke the news that the Bengals defensive end would only miss a few weeks, and that he’d avoided any major injury:

And though it’s not any official confirmation by the Bengals, Maxwell Murphy, who is Myles’ brother, tweeted that it was an MCL sprain. He assured fans that they’d see the former first round pick in time for Cincinnati’s week 2 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs:

In today’s game, a team cannot have too many defensive linemen that can get after the opposing quarterback. And in his second season Muphy will be a big part of that effort. But for at least week 1 against the New England Patriots, it will be the trio of Trey Hendrickson, Sam Hubbard, and Joseph Ossai at defensive end. Hubbard and Hendrickson have dealt with their share of injuries in the offseason as well but both appear to be on track to play in week 1, as Hubbard practiced this week for the first time:

Here is how to watch Thursday night’s final Bengals preseason game:

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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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