The Cincinnati Bengals stand at 1-2 in the preseason after their 25-23 loss to the New York Giants on Thursday night.
More importantly, the first-team offense redeemed itself on at least one drive, bubble guys like Damion Willis had big performances, and debuts for others went quite well.
Before looking ahead to the fourth preseason game, these are the winners and losers from Week 3 of the preseason:
Winner: Rodney Anderson
Talk about a debut.
Bengals fans had been anxious to see what the rookie running back could do coming off his knee injury. By game’s end, he had four catches for 51 yards, nearly leading the team.
Anderson was always going to make the roster — this just showed he’s not very rusty and could have a role earlier than anticipated.
Loser: O’Shea Dugas
Dugas was a surprise top-10 rookie at Pro Football Focus entering the day.
Leaving it, he looked long for the roster.
Dugas had a few brutal mistakes up front that led to quarterbacks being hit. He’s raw with some good traits, but Thursday cemented he’s headed for the practice squad, not the final roster.
Winner: Damion Willis
Surprise, right?
Willis has been the big playmaker all preseason, and that didn’t change Thursday with the Giants in town. He got the nod as a starter instead of Josh Malone and responded with three catches for 55 yards and a score. He’s been a roster lock and merely kept rolling right along.
Loser: Tony McRae
McRae had a chance with guys like Darius Phillips down to make an impression and push for the final roster.
Instead, he was repeatedly picked on by the Giants (for good reason) and gave up some big plays.
Winner: Ryan Glasgow
Carl Lawson’s comeback has been fun, but it has overshadowed Glasgow — he looks better than ever.
Glasgow was a force all night whenever he was on the field and there shouldn’t be any more questions about his spot in the rotation. Simply put, he’s back and the coaches have to find a way to keep him out there consistently.
Loser: Josh Malone
That might be it for Malone, who watched his spot where he plays in place of A.J. Green on the first team go to the undrafted Damion Willis.
Malone finished the night with two catches on four targets and a score, with the touchdown coming late. But unless the Auden Tate injury is for some reason serious, he might have spoiled his chances at making the 53-man roster.
