At face value, Cincinnati Bengals offensive lineman John Jerry and cornerback Darius Phillips had rough outings in the team’s first preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
But these things are always worth a closer look, especially when Gordon McGuinness at Pro Football Focus singles them out as members of the team of the week.
Jerry was responsible for two penalties, yet his overall performance earned him the honor from PFF:
Jerry didn’t allow a sack, hit or hurry from 21 pass-blocking snaps on Saturday night in the Bengals preseason opener. One of the highlights for the team on offense, Jerry joins the Bengals coming off of five straight seasons of PFF offensive grades of 66.0 or higher between 2013 and 2017.
As for Phillips, he muffed two punts. But PFF wrote the following:
A fifth-round selection a year ago, Phillips was on the field for 32 coverage snaps this week. Targeted four times, he allowed just one reception for eight yards and came away with two pass breakups.
As a whole, mistakes like these are going to happen in the first week of the preseason. And while the negatives for both guys were obvious, there were positives worth noting too.
Jerry, penalties or not, remains in the competition to start at left guard. Phillips might not necessarily get another shot on returns, but he’s still high-upside depth the team clearly values.
