Bengals vs. Buccaneers: First half observations from MNF

Bengals vs. Buccaneers preseason — first half observations

Buccaneers lead the Bengals 23-3

Injury Update — Mike Evans tweaks hamstring

Bucs WR Mike Evans apparently tweaked his hamstring in the 1st quarter, and didn’t return to the game.

Hopefully it’s nothing serious, but hamstring injuries can linger for a long time if not treated properly. Don’t be surprised if the Bucs let him take extra time to heal.

Doug Martin looks reborn

The Buccaneers have a couple of really solid running backs in Doug Martin and Charles Sims, but they are question marks due to Martin’s lack of production the last two years and Sims’ inexperience. It appears as though, in a contract year, Martin is taking serious his opportunity (perhaps the last one) to be the starter on this team.

And don’t be too loud about this, but Martin looks like a sneaky great fantasy football option this year again as well…

He rushed the ball six times for 59 yards in the 1st quarter alone, and had one long run where he broke some tackles right near the sideline, the play looked dead, and he broke free and got the ball another 20 yards downfield to the one yard line.

Jameis Winston looked great, but got hurt

Early in the 2nd quarter, Winston took a huge hit and came up hobbled. The Bengals promptly blitzed him and he crumbled to the ground and thew the ball away. He limped off the field and probably had the entire crowd holding their breath. Aside from that, Winston looked pretty awesome.

The Bucs marched down the field on their first drive and with the help of some nice throws by Winston and a couple big runs by Doug Martin, they were able to get the ball down to the one where Winston rolled out and dove for the pylon and a touchdown. Throwing the ball, he looked really sharp. Winston’s passes to all areas of the field were on point, and he had perhaps his best pass of the night dropped by tight end Tim Wright on a third down play that would have extended yet another drive for Tampa Bay.

Bengals offense looked generally horrible

The Cincinnati Bengals, led by Andy Dalton, were horrid offensively. Dalton started off 1/3 for 14 yards and looked like he might be putting together a string of decent throws prior to A.J. Green tapping a ball straight up in the air for Alterraun Verner to pick off and take to the house. He also threw another interception to the middle of the field on an overthrow to Tyler Eifert. Yikes.

Green appears poised for a great season of volleyball, at least.

All joking aside, the duo of Dalton and Green will get back on track, but this was not a good game for them or the Bengals’ offensive line, which was porous to say the least. They made some adjustments in the 2nd quarter, but in the 1st quarter, Larry English and Gerald McCoy notched sacks on Andy Dalton and they couldn’t move the ball on the ground at all.

A couple of dropped passes added in and you have a generally terrible first half for the Cincinnati offense. Luckily, it’s just a preseason game.

UPDATE

While I’ve been working on this post, Jeremy Hill has fumbled, the third turnover of the half for Cincy.

UPDATE II

Injury to insult as Tyler Eifert dropped a sure TD and was blasted in the ribs. D.J. Swearinger absolutely lit him up.

UPDATE III

Andy Dalton misses a wide open A.J. Green near the sideline on 3rd and 5, and completely under throws it, nearly throwing another interception in the process.

UPDATE IV

Backup kicker gets the Bengals on the board with 2:46 left in the 1st half. Scoring drive set up by a pass interference on the Buccaneers.

Russell Shepard looks like a nice weapon

The special teams ace and former LSU jack of all trades appears poised for a prominent role with the Bucs this year. He had a nice end-around resulting in a 12-yard gain, and also caught a 22-yard pass from Jameis Winston before the rookie was taken out of the game after being injured. Bucs followers have been taking notice…

Shepard had a phenomenal, over the shoulder 22-yard touchdown catch from Mike Glennon following a Bradley McDougald interception as well. He was probably the MVP of the first half for the Buccaneers, and in addition to his special teams play, he appears ready to make a big impact offensively.

Best Tweet of the 1st Half Award

Shade. Thrown.

Mike Glennon actually looks…pretty good (ducks) I was going to let this be part of a segment called ‘It’s Getting Hot In Here’ due to this being a bit of a hot take, but as the half progressed, Glennon looked pretty good. Especially on this throw…

Maybe the Bucs can trade Glennon to a QB needy team while he still has (somewhat) high value. Personally, I still don’t think he’s a great starting caliber QB, but there are worse options out there.

Or are there…?

What to watch for in the 2nd half

– A.J. McCarron, Bengals backup QB

– How the Buccaneers OL responds

– Kenny Bell, former Nebraska WR and Bucs rookie (personal favorite)

Next: Jameis Winston game 2 recap and grades