The Bengals' draft picks took their solid play from training camp and brought it into Saturday's preseason opener at Paycor Stadium against the Buccaneers, led by third-rounder Jermaine Burton.
Burton, the wide receiver from Alabama who didn't play his 20 snaps until late in the game, caught a 37-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Logan Woodside with 3:33 left to give Cincinnati a short-lived 14-10 lead. He then gave them a chance to win it with 41 seconds left when he caught Woodside's 38-yarder for the two longest plays of the game.
Burton's highly anticipated appearance came late in the third quarter.
"There's just zero rhythm whatsoever (in the) second quarter midway through the third quarter to where we weren't focused on just getting guys in there," said Bengals head coach Zac Taylor. "We focused on getting first downs so we could run the ball and call some stuff off of it. We were able to get him in there late in the game and target him a couple times. The quarterback did a good job finding him and he did a great job when the ball went to him. That's what we want to see from him."
Burton showed his speed when he ran by college free agent cornerback Andrew Hayes down the left sideline on a stop-and-go and made a nice over-the-shoulder catch for the touchdown. Then on the next snap less than three minutes later, he went down the sideline again and ripped the ball from Hayes on a contested catch.
"Going back to OTAs I felt we had a pretty good connection early and even in camp I've been able to hit him with a few balls," Woodside said. "The second one came on the same kind of coverage. The corner was off more, so I just tried to put it on him one-on-one and tried to give him a shot to make a play."
Burton has flashed at camp on some days, and he's overcome an ankle injury that knocked him out of a couple of practices.
"As long as you continue to put the work in and stay ready, you don't have to get ready (really)," Burton said. "So pretty much, any moment I was placed in tonight, I was prepared for it and ready to attack full throttle. The fact that it was able to happen (tonight) and come to life, it's amazing. I'm just going to keep on working."
NEWTON AGAIN: Bengals cornerback Josh Newton, the fifth-rounder from TCU, has been all over training camp and carried that success into Saturday. He rebounded from getting the wind knocked out of him to come up with a leaping, contested interception of Bucs quarterback Kyle Trask on a deep ball over the middle.
Working out of the slot against wide receiver Ryan Miller, Newton had position in front and came down with it, showing off his NFL scouting combine vertical leap on the first drive of the second quarter.
"We were in man-to-man," Newton said. "He gave me a certain stem and I knew he was going to run back outside, so I just ran outside, made sure I turned my head and the ball was just right there."
The outgoing Newton wasn't at a loss for his words about his big moment.
"It's a blessing, man. Dream come true. The first of many, the first of many," Newton said.
MIMS DEBUT: First-round pick Amarius Mims started at right tackle and helped keep quarterback Joe Burrow clean in the opening touchdown drive. He took 12 snaps in that one and was the only starter to stay out there in Jake Browning's first drive, a three-and-out.
"I had fun," said Mims, when asked if he felt he needed to play another game if they choose him to be the Opening Day starter. "However they want to do it is fine with me. I'm always ready for more reps."
DAX DEFLECTS: Dax Hill, making the switch from safety to cornerback, showed off his first-round closing speed with three passes defensed to go with four tackles, playing 33 snaps with the second unit. He almost had an interception on the second series of the game that would have stopped a touchdown drive, but it barely hit the ground.
"I felt comfortable. It's good just to move around and get some game time experience," Hill said. "Practicing against these guys, I felt like it kind of prepared me for this moment. I feel like that's the first step. Playing a new position, I feel like that's where it starts. If you're not comfortable, you won't be able to play the position."
PUNT SHOW: The Bengals punting competition got off to a booming start, with each player getting three punts. Rookie Ryan Rehkow got off two 59-yarders, but one of them bounced into the end zone. Incumbent Brad Robbins had a 60-yarder that was returned 10 yards. Robbins, with one inside the 20, had a better net at 45.3 while Rehkow was at 42.
KICKOFF RESULTS: The new kickoff rule went into effect, and the Bengals had the same number of returns they had in last year's preseason opener with six. Saturday's longest was running back Chris Evans' 36-yarder.
When the Bengals took the lead, 17-14, with 3:33 left, they chose to have Evan McPherson kick it to the 1. That's exactly what they got, but they allowed a 30-yard return. If McPherson had kicked the ball into the end zone, the Bucs would have got the ball at the 30.
SLANTS AND SCREENS: College free agent linebacker Maema Njongmeta of Wisconsin led the Bengals defense with 45 plays and a game-high 10 tackles, including a few down-hill stops on short yardage …
Seventh-round safety Daijahn Anthony, one of the stars of training camp, had three assisted tackles on 37 snaps for the second defense before leaving with an injury …
