The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Philadelphia Eagles 30-13 Friday night to finish the preseason undefeated for the first time since 2006.

QB Josh Johnson played the first half for Cincinnati, completing 12-of-19 passes for 156 yards. Johnson led the Bengals to nine points off the foot of K Evan McPherson, who drilled three field goals, including a long of 58 yards. The Bengals' defense shut down the Eagles' offensive attack in the first half, holding them scoreless until a field goal on the final play of the half cut the lead to 9-3.

QB Sean Clifford took over in the second half and put together three scoring drives, featuring a touchdown pass to WR Ke'Shawn Williams and touchdown runs by HBs Kentrell Bullock and Jamal Haynes.

The Bengals now will finalize their 53-man active roster by Sunday at 6 p.m., and begin preparation for the regular-season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, Sept. 13 at Paycor Stadium.

NOTES

Johnson Feeds Meyers, Sets Up Opening Field Goal

The Bengals' offense marched 60 yards in 10 plays on their first drive of the night to set up a 29-yard field goal by McPherson, giving Cincinnati an early 3-0 lead. Fifty-one of those yards came via Johnson completions to receiver Dohnte Meyers, who grabbed three catches in a span of four plays. The receptions were a nine-yarder to convert a third down, a 17-yarder to get into Philadelphia territory, and a 25-yarder that put the ball comfortably in McPherson's range.

That proved to be the final action of the game for Meyers, who finishes the preseason with a team-leading 11 catches for 121 yards. He also logged 22 rushing yards, 54 kickoff return yards and 45 punt return yards over the first two preseason contests.

The Bengals' defense forced a punt on Philadelphia's opening drive, thanks in large part to a sack by defensive end Antwaun Powell-Ryland which backed the Eagles into a third-and-18.

McPherson Drills 58-Yarder to Extend Lead

McPherson knocked through a long-distance field goal yet again in the preseason when he converted a 58-yarder late in the first quarter to boost Cincinnati's lead to 6-0. He previously hit a 56-yard field goal in the preseason two weeks ago against Detroit, then followed up with a 58-yarder in last week's win over Chicago.

McPherson now has made 14 field goals from 50 yards and beyond in his preseason career, the most by any kicker since he entered the league in 2021. He is 14 of 16 from that distance, and 34 of 36 overall on preseason field goal attempts. He finishes this preseason a perfect eight-for-eight on field goals and seven-for-seven on extra points.

Bobo's Pick Leads to McPherson Hat Trick

Cornerback Tacario Davis, the Bengals' third-round draft pick in April, notched the game's first takeaway with an interception at the Cincinnati 21-yard line early in the second quarter. Davis, who had three interceptions in his college career, returned the pick 15 yards to set up the offense with better field position.

Johnson and the Bengals' offense capitalized on the pick with a 10-play, 48-yard drive that ended with a 34-yard field goal by McPherson, his third of the night.

Clifford Finds Ke'Shawn for Game's First TD

Following an Eagles field goal that cut the Bengals' lead to 9-6 early in the second half, Sean Clifford took over at quarterback and proceeded to complete four of five passing attempts for 47 yards, ending with an 11-yard touchdown to receiver Ke'Shawn Williams.

Clifford, who saw late action in the preseason opener versus Detroit and played the entire second half in each of the past two weeks, finishes the three-game stretch with 181 passing yards and two touchdowns with one interception.

Clifford connected with Charlie Jones for a pair of chunk plays during the drive, as Jones came down with a sliding 17-yard catch and then followed with a toe-tapping 19-yarder four snaps later.

Bullock Bullies on Fourth-Quarter TD Drive

Bullock finished with 14 carries for 85 yards on the night, but 43 of those yards were earned on five rushes during a fourth-quarter touchdown drive that extended the Bengals' lead to 23-13. His longest run on the drive was a 25-yarder that saw him juke several Eagles defensive backs, and he punctuated the march five plays later with an 11-yard dash to the end zone.

Bullock, who signed with the Bengals as a college free agent in May, had 25 rushing touchdowns during a college career that included three seasons at Ole Miss (2020-22) and three at South Alabama (2023-25).

Extra Points

• Johnson finished the first half with 12 completions on 19 attempts for 156 yards, good for a passer rating of 88.9. Over his last four quarters played in the preseason, which includes the first half last week against Chicago and the first half tonight at Philadelphia, he has gone 27-for-42 (64.3 percent) for 312 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions.
• Halfback Jamal Haynes added a late touchdown on a 39-yard scamper. The undrafted rookie out of Georgia Tech had seven carries for 78 yards on the night.

QUOTES

"I thought the defense was awesome in the fourth quarter. Those guys were dog-tired. We didn't have a lot of subs. Especially the guys up front -- talking about McKinnley Jackson, Howard (Cross III), Landon (Robinson), Jordan Jefferson, (Isaiah) Foskey, Antwaun (Powell-Ryland). Those six guys took every snap and were exhausted in the heat here, and held up for us. Then offensively, to be able to close it out with the ball, I thought was good situationally. A lot of things we've been preaching, I think have really shown up over the last three preseason games. I'm proud of the guys for going undefeated and finding ways to win. I thought this was a good win tonight." - Head coach Zac Taylor, on what impressed him Friday night and during the preseason

"The two quarterbacks were nails. Josh Johnson had a superb preseason. I really don't know that he could have played much better. Sean (Clifford) as well. I thought Sean was awesome when he went in there. That's a credit to (quarterbacks coach) Brad Kragthorpe. He's got four quarterbacks in the room. He's done an excellent job over the years, getting those guys ready. I think that says a lot about them and the room we've got. I'm really proud of the way those two guys operated." - Head coach Zac Taylor, on the performance from the team's quarterbacks on Friday night