PHILADELPHIA _ Bengals head coach Zac Taylor wanted the rushing stats. Exactly how many yards did they rush for here in this muggy, Fourth of July humidity?
Since he had a big smile on his face, he had a pretty good idea.
"It was 211 yards," someone said.
So Taylor got exactly what he wanted Friday night in the last quarter of the preseason here at Lincoln Financial Field when his backup offensive line hammered home his precious four-minute drill and kept the ball for more than ten minutes to give Cincinnati its first undefeated preseason in 20 years with a 30-13 victory over the Eagles.
"Offensively, to be able to close out with the ball, it was all good stuff situationally," Taylor said. "A lot of things we've been preaching I think have really shown up over the last three preseason games and I'm proud of the guys for going undefeated and finding ways to win."
Taylor couldn't be specific about spots on the offensive line that are among those to be decided in Sunday's 6 p.m. cut to 53 players.
But since Javon Foster began the night at left tackle and moved to right tackle in the second half, his case to stay as the third tackle got a boost with 420 total yards for an offensive line that allowed one sack, and it was on a rollout.
"I think individually upfront we'll have to evaluate the tape before I go too far out there, but I would say the overall offensive line played really well," Taylor said.
College free agent running backs Kentrel Bullock (85 yards on 14 carries that doubled his workload of the previous two games) and Jamal Haynes (78 yards on seven carries), came bolting out of the back of the depth chart in that fourth quarter.
"We were able to run the ball," Taylor said. "They came in the fourth quarter when we had the lead. When you're able to grind it out and hit some big ones like we did there with Jamal at the very end and Kentrel had some good ones and that's where 200 yards rushing comes from. You got a two-score lead and you're able to start pounding it and guys break some big ones. But the linemen are a big part of that as well, so I thought that was great to see the performance from those guys."
Foster, a third-year pro, said he'll chill and pray and recover and rest until the news comes. But he's not sure he could have done much more Friday.
"I felt like everyone did as much they could and the scoreboard obviously showed it," Foster said.
While the offense wore down the Eagles, the defense suffocated them in total yards, holding them a yard below the Bengals' rushing total with 210. It was the third straight game the Bengals out-rostered the foe.
"I think we've got everything we need," Taylor said. "We've got tough decisions, but I think we've got a really good roster."
Quick Work
The worst kept secret seems to be CFL wide receiver Dohnte Meyers is going to make the club Sunday. If his three catches for a preseason-high of 51 yards on the first drive didn't do it, his seat on the bench the rest of the way seemed to confirm, it.
"I wasn't made aware of any restrictions," Meyers said of Friday's play time. "When I'm playing, I'm just competing as hard as I can."
If you saw him work against the Bears, this was pretty much the same thing. On the game's first third down, quarterback Josh Johnson read the third-and-seven blitz and found Meyers moving out of the slot for nine yards. Then Johnson went play-action, rolled out and found Meyers for a preseason-long 25 yards as he raced away from coverage with that speed that seems to be getting faster and faster.
"It was a big crosser route," Meyers said. "We want to marry up those play-action protections and go across the field with a big play. I'm trying to show the different things I can do. Play outside and then when the formation calls for it inside, to be able to be shifty."
Meyers shrugged when asked if he thinks he's made it. He basically said what he's said ever since he arrived. "I'm going to control what I can control and go from there."
Take A Bow D-Line
It would look like rookie defensive tackle Landon Robinson didn't do anything to hurt his spot on the club with a half sack, which means he's had at least that in every game. But Taylor pointed out six defensive linemen played all the snaps, and one of them, edge Isaiah Foskey, had half of their three sacks with 1.5.
"Those six guys were exhausted in the heat here and were able to hold up for us," Taylor said.
Slants and Screens
How about Georgia Tech's Haynes? The 5-7, 195-pound back has barely touched the ball this summer in practice or in games. After getting one carry in the first two weeks, Hayes was invisible against the Eagles. They couldn't find him, much less touch him as he finished off the night's scoring with one of the more amazing 39-yard touchdown runs you'll ever see.
Let him tell it.
"Stretch to the left. I saw the hole a little bit clogged," Haynes said. "I had a little Le'Veon Bell patience. I went back to my inside and I realized the hole re-opened, so I continued back on my path and then stuck with it."
When Haynes veered back to the right, he broke out of the scrum making two tacklers miss and then two more as he ran away from the field.
Le'Veon Bell?
"Love him," Haynes said.
Suddenly, Sunday is here and Haynes was asked if it was too little, too late.
"Maybe I could have showcased more of my skills, but in the end," Haynes said, "you take what you get." …
Charlie Jones and Ke'Shawn Williams staged a heavyweight bout at receiver and returner as the Bengals try to figure out who stays in the receiver room. Jones caught balls of 17 and 19 yards and had a 31-yard punt return. Williams caught an 11-yard touchdown pass on a beautiful spin move at the three-yard line and had four catches for 39 yards to go with a seven-yard punt return.
A Chestnut Hill Academy product, Williams played in front of the home folks for the first time since high school. It was an emotional night. He had to have 50 people there.
"Everytime I looked around, I saw somebody I knew," Williams said. "I looked up on the Jumbotron, and I saw my cousin and aunt and uncle." …
In his 14th year in the NFL and at age 40, could quarterback Josh Johnson had a better preseason? Taylor doubts it.
"I appreciate the staff," Johnson said. "They cut me loose." …
