Here are six things we learned from Friday night’s game.
Receiving praise
If Friday was any indication, it’s going to be fun watching all the young wide receivers battle for a spot on the 53-man roster.
In addition to Erickson’s big night, sixth-round rookie Cody Core shared the team lead with three receptions, one of which started the team’s first scoring drive just before halftime.
Second-pick Tyler Boyd turned in the best of the night, hauling in a 40-yard pass from AJ McCarron despite tight coverage to set up Erickson’s touchdown catch.
Undrafted rookie Rashaun Simonise turned a short crossing route into a 47-yard gain late in the game, while Antwane Grant, another undrafted rookie, added a 14-yard reception to extend a third-quarter scoring drive.
“That’s all you can ask for is just an opportunity,” Erickson said. “We have a lot of guys that are pushing each other, that brings out the best in everybody. You could see that tonight we had a lot of rookie receivers making plays out there.”
The five rookie receivers combined to catch seven passes for 137 yards and a touchdown.
Second-year receiver Mario Alford only played two offensive snaps but caught a 14-yard pass early in the second half, and James Wright, who hadn’t experienced live action since suffering a knee injury in Nov. 2014, added an 8-yard grab to convert a first down on a 22-play drive.
Secondary struggles
With first-round pick William Jackson and Darqueze Dennard out with injuries and starters Adam Jones and Dre Kirkpatrick limited to just three plays, the cornerback group had a chance to show off its depth the way the receivers did. But that didn’t happen.
Chykie Brown was beaten badly – as well as flagged for illegal contact – on a 49-yard touchdown pass from Teddy Bridgewater to Charles Johnson. And a trio of Vikings quarterbacks combined to complete 18 of the team’s first 21 pass attempts before finishing 20 of 27 for 220 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
The pick, by safety Jimmy Wilson, was a gift after a Joel Stave pass went off the hands of Minnesota receiver Isaac Fruechte.
Slight scare
Bengals running back Jeremy Hill gave fans a bit of a fright when he ran off the field with his left arm dangling at his side, but he said after the game it was just a bruised hand and he’ll be fine.
Other than the offensive line, Hill was one of two starters who went back out for the second series, and it was on the first play of that drive when he hurt his hand at the end of a 3-yard run.
After trainers looked at his hand, Hill got up off the bench shaking it but remained on the field for the remainder of the game rather than heading into the locker room for further evaluation.
He finished with 16 yards on three carries.
Three and ouch
The Bengals first-team defense only played three snaps, but Minnesota quarterback Teddy Bridgewater certainly felt its presence.
“I’m really excited how fast we started defensively,” defensive tackle Domata Peko said. “We had three plays and three hits on the quarterback. You can’t ask for more than that. We got a quick three-and-out and coach just sat us down and said you guys are done for the rest of the day.”
After a near sack on first down, defensive tackle Geno Atkins registered a sack on second down. Then defensive end Carlos Dunlap blasted Bridgewater as he threw an incompletion on third down.
Late-night Vigil
Unlike a year ago when third-round linebacker P.J. Dawson played sparingly in the preseason as a rookie, the Bengals seem intent on giving third-round rookie linebacker Nick Vigil a long look.
Part of that, of course, is due to the fact that Marvin Lewis said he has no plans to play Vontaze Burfict in the preseason games, but a bigger reason is how quickly Vigil has learned the scheme.
Vigil played 36 of the 57 defensive snaps, which was third most on the team, and finished with a team-high six tackles.
Short-yardage success
While the fourth-and-1 failure at the end of a 22-play drive will stand out in the minds of most, the Bengals were successful on four other third-and-1s on that series alone. There were several other short-yardage conversions, and a big reason for them was the play of Jeff Luc.
Undrafted as a linebacker out of the University of Cincinnati, Luc converted to fullback at the request of Bengals coaches this spring. And he was one of the first rookies to get into the game, clearing paths for Giovani Bernard and Cedric Peerman as they converted four third downs on the second offensive series of the game.
“I knew I was going to play and get an opportunity, but I didn’t know it was going to be so early,” Luc said. “I tried to grab this opportunity and roll with it.”
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