5 Takeaways from Bengals Joint Practice With the Bears

Questions Surrounding the Bengals Front Office

The Bengals are known to be more patient than most organizations, prioritizing stability over making hasty decisions on their front office and head coach. Bengals owner Mike Brown, son of the iconic head coach Paul Brown, is known to honor contracts, not firing a head coach with more than a season left on his contract.

The Bengals front office did not report that they gave head coach Zac Taylor a 5-year extension after the 2021 Super Bowl appearance. Per Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic, Taylor was given an extension after the second appearance in the AFC Championship game in 2023. The extension pushed the contract through the 2027 season.

CBS Sports reported comments from Taylor on his secret contract extension. Taylor said: “”I don’t think it really matters,” Taylor said. “I coach every day like it’s my last. With head coaching changes throughout the rest of the AFC North Division in Cleveland, Baltimore and Pittsburgh. Cincinnati elected for stability, retaining Zac Taylor.

The Bengals also kept Duke Tobin as director of player personnel. Mike Brown chose continuity with his staff and made un Bengal like moves trading away a 1^st-round pick, No. 10 overall, for the All-Pro defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence to solidify the nose tackle position, providing a rare blend of capabilities: being able to stuff the run and collapsing the pocket, getting to the quarterback.

The Lawrence trade has paid off during training camp, but has started to be solidified after joint practice Thursday in Cincinnati with the Chicago Bears, with Dexter Lawrence dominating against the Bears’ offensive line.

Feedback from Bears vs Bengals Joint Practice

Here’s Bengals color commentator Dan Hoard’s five observations from Bengals vs Bears joint practice. The 1^st observation highlights the Bengals trading for Dexter Lawrence:

“Five observations from today’s joint practice with the Bears: 1. After only playing three snaps against the Lions, Dexter Lawrence was a force, consistently collapsing the pocket and tipping a ball to himself tor an INT. “Yeah, it felt good going against another team for more than three plays,” he said with a laugh. “Getting into a rhythm, seeing different people, different blocks — it’s just different.” “He’s overwhelmingly strong with good hands, and he’s a very savvy player,” said Ted Karras when asked about blocking Dexter. “You’ve got to be ready to go, or he’ll dump you.”

2. The Bears offense had success early, but the Bengals defense ended the day with three straight stops and two INTs (by Lawrence and Jalen Davis). Myles Murphy had back-to-back sacks on the final drive. That’s a good sign for a defense looking to prove that it can close out games. “We have guys that know what it takes to dominate,” said Murphy. “That’s exactly what we’re looking for.” 

3. Joe Burrow was 16-for-25, including short TD passes in a red zone period to Mike Gesicki and Tee Higgins. After practice, he discussed his mindset this season. “I’m trying to show our guys the urgency that I have and that I want us to have as an organization to go and make it happen,” said Burrow. “Life is too short to keep pushing things down the road, and I’m trying to instill some urgency and some intensity in everybody to go and be great every day.”

4. Tee Higgins caught all five passes thrown his way, including two gains of more than 15 yards, a catch to move the sticks on third-and-four, and the TD grab. “It was real important for me,” said Higgins. “Last camp practice I had a few drops and wasn’t too happy about it. But I came out today with a fresh start and just wanted to go out there and make plays.”

5. I thought Orlando Brown Jr. had a good day. He won both of his reps in one-on-one pass rush drills, and Burrow had solid protection on most of his passing attempts. “So much of training camp is about knocking the rust off,” said Brown. “I feel really confident where I’m at, and I feel like I dominated today in pass protection. One of the reasons why they pay me is for what I do one-on-one.”

Why Bengals Fans Should Be Excited

Everyone who understands football knows the Bengals have a high-powered offense, but the moves the front office during the offseason had to pay dividends on the defensive side of the football to compete for a Super Bowl Title.

Dan Hoard’s report from Bengals vs Bears joint practice had to be music to the media and fans’ ears in Cincinnati and for Bengals fans abroad. Adding Bryan Cook at safety on a three-year contract solidified the safety position. Signing Jonathan Allen helped strengthen the interior of the defensive line. Signing Boye Mafe fresh off a Super Bowl with the Seahawks could be an upgrade over the disgruntled Trey Hendrickson, who signed with AFC North Division rival Baltimore Ravens.

Signing Kyle Dugger & Ja’Sir Taylor: Added depth to the secondary. If the defense continues to improve and the offensive line continues to gel. This could go a long way to the Cincinnati Bengals fulfilling their dream of winning a Super Bowl.