LANDOVER, Md. _ Usually, time flies when you're having fun.

It turns out, it also flew for Bengals cornerback Dax Hill while he endured the most challenging portion of his NFL career. On Monday night here at Northwest Stadium against the Commanders, he is expected to play for the first time since he tore his ACL more than 10 months ago in the fifth game of last season.

"Here it is. Now we're playing," Hill said this week. "I feel like I've done everything I can possibly do. It went by fast."

Hill says his knee feels good, and there were two examples in a recent practice when it certainly looked it.

One came on a third-and-short in a Move-the-Ball period. There was no tackling, but Hill shot downhill fast enough on a dump pass to running back Samaje Perine that the play was ruled short, and the offense had to take a field goal.

Another came in the end zone, where Hill made a healthy, high leap to grab a lob headed to rookie wide receiver Jordan Moore. At the end of their tumble to the ground, Moore swiped it from him with the defense claiming Hill had it long enough.

"We have to see what the replay says," Hill said. "As a defensive back, you live for those moments when you get your hands on the ball. The one thing is, I haven't made as many plays as I would have liked (in this camp). That's the next step."

Monday night is not only Hill's season debut, but also the one for cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt, who missed the preseason opener with what looked to be soreness. If camp scripts hold, Taylor-Britt starts on the outside and Hill in the slot.

When Hill was injured, he was the Bengals' best cornerback. Taylor-Britt has reclaimed that mantle by virtue of his terrific training camp. With Commanders Pro Bowl quarterback Jayden Daniels expected to get the first couple of series, Taylor-Britt and Hill would no doubt like to play much better than last year when they were part of a secondary that saw Daniels complete all but two of his 23 passes.

Head coach Zac Taylor doesn't need to see it all from Hill and Taylor-Britt Monday.

"Not much. Just get them out there with the guys and get a chance to play in a game," Taylor said. "Those guys have played a lot of football for us. Not much of a true evaluation that I need to see out of them."

U.S. BOND

The Bengals came to the outskirts of the Capitol for another night road preseason game, their second in as many weeks. Which meant another long day in a hotel surrounded by each other.

It fits into what Taylor has been trying to do since the spring voluntary practices in his effort to make this team tighter than the previous few seasons. Center and incumbent captain Ted Karras, who arrived a month after the Super Bowl appearance in 2022, talked about it earlier this week.

"He's trying to make this the closest team in the league. I think we've really taken that. More so than any team I've been on here in the past," said Karras, the day of the biggest scuffle of camp. "There's a lot of across the ball relationships and I think we've got a lot of really good pros. And we put out really efficient, good practices."

Karras didn't think it mattered that it took three weeks of practice before tempers flared hot enough to scrap.

"It's not an indictment on everyone's passion," Karras said. "It's more of a trait of the fact we have such good relationships across the ball."

JENKINS JAMBOREE

Second-year defensive tackle Kris Jenkins Jr. is playing like the prospect the Bengals thought he was when they waited breathlessly between Amarius Mims at No. 18 and No. 49.

Now it's just a matter of knocking on wood. It was late in his rookie training camp when he broke a hand.

"Everything happened to him last year that could derail a rookie season," Taylor said. "He got hurt two or three days before the Patriots game (Opening Day), post-practice. So he played in a cast early on in his rookie year. That's no way to begin your NFL career.

"He's had a great camp. Really consistent for us," Taylor said. "Now he's had a chance to have a full offseason, full training camp, get all these snaps and you're starting to see him really ascend as a player."

SLANTS AND SCREENS

The Bengals had eight penalties for 68 yards in the Aug. 7 preseason opener against the Eagles, and Taylor has declared war on all of them for Monday night. Pre. Post. And during the play.

"Better attention to detail. There (were) so many foolish things we did. Pre-snap primarily, a little bit of post-snap, that had nothing to do with Philadelphia," Taylor said earlier this week. "It felt like we did not give ourselves the best chance to win that game. Who cares? Preseason game, regular-season game, it should all feel the same for us, post-game locker room and all that stuff.

"We've done a good job at practice of that (and) did not carry over to the game. And I expect to see us much cleaner in this game operationally." …

Various outlets reported Monday that the Bengals are bringing in veteran guard Dalton Risner for a workout. Risner, who turned 30 last month, has 81 starts at guard during six seasons with the Broncos and Vikings. The move comes with backup guards Cody Ford and Cordell Volson not practicing on Saturday and Volson leaving Friday's practice with what appeared to be a shoulder issue. In the two previous practices, Ford played both left and right tackle after backing up right guard the first two weeks of camp …