LANDOVER, Md. _ Earlier this week, as wide receiver Mitchell Tinsley continued to torch Bengals training camp, quarterback Jake Browning talked about the things that made him such an inviting target at a mere 6-1, 205 pounds with no NFL catches during his two seasons with the Commanders.

"His releases," Browning said, "and 50-50 balls. He's really good at contested catches."

We take you to Monday night's last minute of the first half of the Bengals' second preseason game, and Browning putting the ball only where Tinsley could get it and make a 50-50 ball 100-0.

With 34 seconds left from 13 yards away, Browning saw Tinsley one-on-one against journeyman cornerback Bobby Price. Tinsley had to stretch-lean his body to the right to stop it with his right hand and bring it in for the touchdown, ripping it away from Price.

Twenty seconds later, Browning leered at undrafted rookie cornerback Car'lin Vigers trying to cover Tinsley on the outside. Browning and Tinsley did what they've done all camp and ran the fade perfectly with Tinsley leaping over Vigers and taking the ball off his helmet and hands in the back of the end zone.

"I went up and made a play. Nothing crazy about it," said Tinsley after he pretty much wrapped up a roster spot with five catches for 73 yards against the team that brought him in as an undrafted free agent out of Penn State in 2023. "I try to focus on the things I can control. I leave that up to other people.

"For me, this is the beginning. I figure there's a lot more I can get."

Staying true to the sports psychology books he read this past offseason, Tinsley said he didn't want to make a bigger deal out of Monday night than it was.

"I treat it as practice," Tinsley said. "If I feel like if I go in with that mindset, I'll stay relaxed."

Tinsley said he enjoyed the interaction with old teammates after the game, but he said there had been no revenge on his mind. Only preparation.

"They were just another team out there," Tinsley said.

But Bengals head coach Zac Taylor had no problem making Tinsley's return to Washington a big deal when he made him and linebacker Joe Giles-Harris the game captains for their terrific camps at the back of the roster.

"(Tinsley) has become a guy that everybody really respects in the locker room. He just goes out there and works, and we respect that," Taylor said. "He created the opportunities for himself. He's done enough in practice to where we wanted to put him in the positions to be at the point of attack when he was in the game there. He rewarded himself with touchdowns, catches and extending drives."

The crowning moment of his night may have come when he was trusted enough to run with quarterback Joe Burrow in the third drive of the game. Then, when Burrow was asked if he thought Tinsley made the club, No. 9 said, "I hope so."

BARRETT CENTER

The Bengals had some issues with their No. 1 defense when they allowed three runs of at least 14 yards on seven plays.

They appeared to have some problems at the second level, but not so the backups, where fourth-round pick Barrett Carter roamed for a team-high seven tackles at linebacker, as well as an interception in the last minute of the first half to set up Tinsley's second touchdown with 14 seconds left.

Carter, known as a wicked pass defender at Clemson, said it helped that he had played Commanders quarterback Sam Huffman twice against Wake Forest and once against Notre Dame.

"I kind of remember playing him in college, taking notes about him in college, it translates," Carter said. "Whatever my role looks like for this team, I can live with the results. I just want to help us win games. Whatever that looks like for me, I'm OK with it."

On Monday, that looked like a steady hand as he led the team in tackles while playing 56% of the plays on 29 snaps. After Washington had those two quick scores against the Ones, the backups allowed just a field goal and 152 yards the rest of the way.

Carter played 56% of the snaps on 29 plays, and he underscored the importance of his interception and the one by safety Tycen Anderson. Carter's pick set up seven quick points. Anderson made his near his own goal line.

"AG (defensive coordinator Al Golden) has been hammering to get the ball out and get the ball back for our offense," Carter said. "The fact that we were plus-two in the (turnover) margin tonight, that's playing winning football. We just have to keep building on that. Keep getting the ball back for our offense because they can do a lot of special things."

SLANTS AND SCREENS

One of those special things is Burrow turning mush into magic in the pocket. He had some adventures back there Monday with a 17-yard sack and a frightening sack that was negated by a "horse collar," penalty. But this is why he has played a career-high 44 snaps in the preseason, including a career-high in a game Monday with 28.

"He's out there learning what he can and can't do. And we've seen him get out of that stuff before, and that's why he's playing in the preseason," Taylor said. "For a chance to feel what it's like to feel in a game. And there's times where he's going to get out of that and get a big play, and there's going to be times where we're in a tough spot on the two-yard line. And so he gets a chance to feel that and learn from it." …

Evan McPherson drilled his second 50-yard field goal of the preseason, a 54-yarder that closed the scoring…

Browning was superb with a 108.6 passer rating on those two touchdowns to Tinsley. Taylor used the dreaded "managed," word, but it was a compliment all the way.

"I thought Jake did a really good job keeping the ball moving forward, finding completions. Managing," Taylor said. "There were some check situations he had to get into defensively that I thought he did a good job of." …