Bengals’ Defensive Starters Expected to Play Against Falcons

Prepare to see numerous Bengals defensive starters when the Bengals travel to Atlanta to face the Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Friday night. Safety Nick Scott and Mike Hilton both stated that they will play a series or two against the Falcons. Although it is unknown if the offensive starters will play without quarterback Joe Burrow, center Ted Karras says he is preparing as if he would.

The Bengals began the 2022 season 0-2 and head coach Zac Taylor addressed several concerns about his preseason strategy of not playing starters. Hilton feels a lack of preseason repetitions contributed to the team’s slow start last season, which is why he’s looking forward to suiting up on Friday night.

“Even though it might be a series or two, I’m excited to get out there,” Hilton said. “It will be big for us. Us not playing last year we started out 0-2, I feel like that had something to do with it. I feel like getting these reps, especially as a unit, will be good for us and get us prepared for the season.”

The Bengals’ first preseason game included just Safety Dax Hill as a starter. This decision was made owing to Hill’s lack of playing time at the position during his rookie season. Now, he’ll get to see game action with Scott, Cincinnati’s new safety tandem.

The Bengals play the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Friday, August 18, at 7:30 p.m.