Matt’s Take: Bengals thoughts after Game 1 of preseason; Reds won’t see .500
By Matthew McAdow
HCP columnist
After the first preseason game and rewatching it a second time, there certainly was a lot to digest.
The Bengals won, but that means absolutely nothing to me when watching the film from the game over again. There were many positives, some concerns, and obviously some room for improvement.
However, I think the Bengals have improved enough to win this division and really have a shot at having a playoff run if they can stay healthy. That is one big “if” for football.
Positives from Preseason Game 1
While overall it wasn’t successful, I was stoked to see Joe Burrow playing under center rather than in shotgun. While he likes to throw the ball more than anyone in the league, this team has to establish a way to keep defenses on their toes. You can’t play in shotgun all game, as we have been in years past.
Kris Jenkins has the second most tackles and a sack, while including a tackle for loss. He had an impressive night.
Yeast and Battle both reeled in interceptions, resulting in massive swings of momentum
for this Bengals team.
Cincinnati had just 6 missed tackles, 4 below their average last season.
Cashius Howell. Order your jersey now! Kid is going to be great.
Concerns from Preseason Game 1
Joe Burrow was pressured on nearly 30 % of his drop backs against a backup-filled Lions defense. He has to get the ball out quicker and everyone has to do their job. While this sounds bad, realize this was a massively small sample size.
I didn’t watch the game and get the feeling that the linebacker position was going to be fixed – mind you, many star players didn’t play last week. Demetrius Knight Jr. being the leader of that group, however, worries me.
Cincinnati appears to still be missing a WR3. While Andrei Iosivas appears to be “the guy,” I hope to see Colbie Young get a lot of opportunities.
The Cincinnati Reds Won’t Make it Back to .500 in 2026
Insert “Vince Carter Dunk Contest Meme” of him stating “it’s over” throughout this paragraph, as this season is completely over. Don’t let me convince you otherwise and don’t let me say the “Reds are hot” again in 2026.
It is without a doubt – over. I wanted Emilio Pagan’s statement of “making it weird” to happen, but there just isn’t enough talent.
Letting Christian Encarnacion-Strand walk and trading away Nathaniel Lowe has resulted in me watching even more at-bats from people who shouldn’t be on a big league roster.
I’m done watching Friedl, McLain, and Hayes in Reds uniforms. Honestly, I am done watching Terry Francona manage this poorly put-together roster from Nick Krall and Brad Meador.
Not only is post-season baseball not happening, .500 baseball isn’t coming back this year either. That September schedule is brutal and now was the worst time for Elly De La Cruz to go 2-30 since August 7. He needs a day's rest, but Terry Francona refuses to give him one. I don’t want to be negative, but the Cincinnati Reds are the Cleveland Browns of baseball, the Washington Wizards of baseball, and they don’t have a bright future ahead.