The Cincinnati Bengals lead the Washington 10-7 at halftime in the preseason finale for both teams.
The Commanders sat most of their starters for the game, and went with veteran backup Jacoby Brissett as the starting quarterback. Washington started LG Saahdiq Charles, C Nick Gates and RG Sam Cosmi on the offensive line. Those were the only offensive starters to play. They exited after the first series.
On Washington’s first possession, Brissett was moving the ball down the field until wide receiver Dax Milne drops a ball to force fourth down. Head coach Ron Rivera went for it and Brissett’s pass was batted down, turning the ball over on downs.
The Bengals answered behind quarterback Jake Browning. Browning found wide receiver Andrei Iosivas for a touchdown and an early lead.
Brissett responded, taking the Commanders across midfield where he found rookie wide receiver Mitchell Tinsley for a 39-yard touchdown. Brissett did a great job of evading pressure, keeping his eyes downfield and finding Tinsley. Tinsley made an outstanding move to score.
The Bengals scored the only other points on a 58-yard field goal from Evan McPherson.
Cincinnati was driving late in the second quarter but some outstanding defensive plays by Washington’s secondary forced a turnover. First, Commanders safety Terrell Burgess made a terrific play to break up a touchdown. Next, rookie undrafted safety Kendall Smith got his hands on a pass heading for the end zone and the deflection landed into the hands of Washington cornerback Jace Whittaker for the interception and touchback.
Brissett completed 10 of 15 passes for 96 yards and a touchdown. Jake Fromm relieved Brissett and completed two of five passes for 22 yards. The Commanders had three drops in the first half.