PHILADELPHIA _With the NFL final roster cut to 53 players less than 48 hours away at 6 p.m. Sunday, first-year wide receiver Dohnte Meyers needed just the first six minutes in Friday night's preseason finale here at Lincoln Financial Field to grab what looks to be a spot in the Bengals' wide receiver room.

Meyers came in as their leading preseason receiver and leading bubble guy to make it and did nothing to dispel the CW with three catches in the Bengals' first drive for a season-high 51 yards before going to the bench for the rest of the night with a neon sign as Cincinnati built a 9-3 halftime lead.

Other highlights:

_Third-rounder Tacario Davis, the cornerback from Washington who has no roster concerns, offered a huge effort in the first half. It began with a pass defense of Eagles first-round receiver Makai Lemon on the first series of the game in Lemon's NFL debut and included one-handed grab off a ricochet from Lemon's hands for an interception in the second quarter. That came two snaps after Davis dropped running back Carson Steele in space after a catch in the flat for a two-yard loss.

Davis was flagged for a hold, but after finishing as Pro Football Focus' top Bengals defender against the run in the game against the Bears, he had four more tackles in the first half.

_Six days after not allowing a touchdown against the Bears, the defense carried the first half. With five minutes left, the Eagles had just three yards passing with linebacker Swayze Bozeman and rookie defensive tackle Landon Robinson staking their claims with four and two tackles, respectively.

In the last minute of the half, end Isaiah Foskey bent the edge back to make an athletic sack of Eagles quarterback Tanner McKee on his way to 1.5 sacks in the half.

_Incumbent punt returner Charlie Jones, locked in a good roster fight in the receiver room, showed the experience that could give him an edge on Sunday. He returned all the punts in the first half, and on the first one he made the first man miss on an eight-yarder. On his third attempt, Jones had a wide berth on the right side and ripped off 31 yards.

_ The Bengals deployed their backup tackles to opposite sides Friday in the quest to find a swing option. Javon Foster started at right tackle, next to rookie right guard Brian Parker II and rookie center Connor Lew with Jacob Bayer at left guard next to Jalen Rivers at tackle.

Despite a false start by Lew, the familiar connection of Johnson and  Meyers dominated the first series.

Meyers, who looks to be the first CFL import to make the Bengals out of camp since wide receiver Andrew Hawkins in 2011, wasted no time, catching Johnson's first third-down pass, a nine-yard bolt against a third- and-seven blitz. With Johnson effectively using play-action rollouts, Meyers raced for a season-long 25-yard catch to set up Evan McPherson's 29-yarder that gave the Bengals a 3-0 lead.

The line held up well as the Bengals rolled to 201 yards with Johnson pitching 12 of 19 for 156 yards. He only got sacked once and that on a bootleg.

_McPherson did it again, going 3-for-3 in the half to raise it to 8-for-8 in the three preseason games, and that included his second 58-yard field goal in six days.