The Cincinnati Bengals may have lost their preseason debut, but it was a promising evening for their regular players and many key substitutes.

Here are our winners and losers from the Bengals’ 17-14 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the preseason.

winner

Joe Burrow:

We didn’t really know how long the Bengals’ starting quarterback would play in his preseason debut, but we knew it would be brief. And if the first-team offense looked solid in a series, we figured that would be it for the night.

That was the case, and even though the Bengals put some of the Tampa Bay defensive reserves under pressure, it was a treat to see Burrow return from a throwing wrist injury and show off his patented slice-and-dice style. He finished the night 5 of 7 passing for 51 yards and a touchdown with three third-down conversions (one of them a penalty).

Tea Higgins:

The Bengals’ star wideout has had a turbulent offseason due to unresolved negotiations over his long-term contract, but he did what many others in his situation wouldn’t have done: He showed up and played in a preseason game.

Higgins had an amazing first drive (and ended his night thereafter) with two catches, a touchdown, and a forced major pass interference penalty.

Andrey Iosivas:

Whether it was blocking or making timely catches, Iosivas continued his solid training camp during the first week of preseason play, extending the team’s first scoring drive with a 23-yard pass on third down.

Dax Hill:

Hill’s bad luck when it came to getting actual interceptions from deflections he caused continued Saturday night, but he was ever-present when it came to being near the football. He blocked three passes, had four total tackles and just always seemed to be near the ball.

Josh Newton:

Congratulations to the rookie on his first pro interception! The Bengals are young at cornerback, but the team liked Newton’s precocity and feels they found an instant performer on the third day of this year’s class.

Amarius Mims:

The big man makes it look easy. We’ll see if he becomes the team’s starter at some point this season, but since he’s been practicing with the team, he’s looked like it.

Cedric Johnson and Jeff Gunter:

In this week’s Orange and Black Insider, we talked about how important this preseason is for Joseph Ossai. His impact wasn’t as noticeable Saturday, but reserves Gunter and Johnson left their mark.

Gunter had half a sack and two tackles, making sure people remember him after he slipped down the pecking order. Johnson was particularly impressive, recording four tackles and a sack.

Maema Njongmeta:

There weren’t many “wow” plays, but the undrafted free agent linebacker was incredibly active on Saturday, finishing with 10 total tackles and helping to mask some of the interior defensive line’s issues in the run game.

Jermaine Burton:

We wondered where and when the third-round rookie would make his mark, and he definitely did in the fourth quarter. Logan Woodside found Burton twice late in the game, as he made three catches for 82 yards and a late, game-tying touchdown.

Logan Woodside:

Sure, it was against defensive players from the Buccaneers’ lower roster, but Woodside made some nice throws. He came close to a last-second comeback (and could have done it if an appropriate pass interference penalty had been called in the end zone), but finished the game a respectable 8 of 12 passing for 149 yards, one touchdown pass, and seven rushing yards.

loser

Jackson Carman:

It just hasn’t worked out for the former second-round pick. He picked up two penalties in the second half – one for holding that prevented a completion and another for a false start – and Carman’s prized versatility may be diminished by combining his preseason play with Mims and Trent Brown as very talented tackles.

The rotation IDL:

The panic button shouldn’t be pushed too often right now, with McKinnley Jackson and Jay Tufele set to return soon, but the interior of the defensive line still seems to be a problem. There have been many instances of interior defenders being shuffled around, from recent second-day picks to those who were in the lineup at the end of the game to facilitate the crucial, daunting touchdown run to take the lead.

We’ve said it ad nauseam, but the AFC North is a physical division. The Bengals will need answers to Derrick Henry, Nick Chubb, Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren for a total of six games on the schedule. With the team opting not to re-sign DJ Reader or Josh Tupou (a combined 650 pounds, with Tupou heading to Baltimore this offseason), Cincinnati will need to find strong options on offense.

Jake Browning:

Look, there’s no problem here since Browning is the Bengals’ backup. Zero. None. But it wasn’t the best performance from No. 6 on Saturday, as he seemed to play a little loose.

He earned that right last year with some solid plays, but the stats and results don’t lie. The team didn’t score a single point under his leadership and he finished with a stat line of 10 of 18 for 52 yards and one interception.