Raise your hand if you’re bothered by the Cincinnati Bengals getting a tough beating on the scoreboard from the Chicago Bears in their second preseason game on Saturday.

At this point in the season, the score no longer matters and they still have one practice game to play before things get serious.

The Bears played the entire first half in their starting offense and for long stretches also in their starting defense.

The Bengals, on the other hand, started without five of their six receivers and benched all of their regulars except for cornerbacks DJ Turner and Dax Hill, who are currently battling to start opposite Cam Taylor-Britt, and played just two series (both three and out).

Despite the issue of starting and reserve players, the Bengals went into the locker room down just 10-3. This was the Bears offense and defense against a lot of guys who will end up on Cincinnati’s practice squad.

Here are some things that stood out:

• It will be exciting to see how Josh Newton develops in the NFL. He clearly has what it takes. He was one-on-one with DJ Moore on third down and knocked the ball away on a perfect play. Moore is one of the better receivers in the NFL. He also got beat a few times. He has a lot of potential on a team that is developing into an extremely strong and talented cornerback team.
• Maema Njongmeta is fun to watch play football. He has talent and a feel for the ball. He is in the right place at the right time and is very aggressive. He has intangible skills that cannot be taught, like aggressiveness and instinct. Now he just needs to hone his skills at the NFL level.
• Jake Browning was out with a rib injury and neither Logan Woodside nor Rocky Lombardi really looked good. Woodside had trouble feeling the pressure from the right and intercepted a few balls. Lombardi also had a fumble and only averaged 4.1 yards per attempt. Browning didn’t look good in Week 1 of the preseason, but based on his performance last season, his job is NOT in jeopardy at all.
• With the starters out, Jaxson Kirkland started at left tackle, not Jackson Carman. Kirkland played 53 snaps to Carman’s nine, and Kirland did well in those. Carman’s experience and versatility are no saving grace, at least not right now. Despite injuries to Amarius Mims and Trent Brown, Carman appears to be on his way out of the game.
• Seventh-round rookie center Matt Lee was on every snap of the game and played really well considering he’s a rookie and had to go up against the Bears’ starting lineup. Check it out:

• With Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard out, Myles Murphy and Joseph Ossai started. They’ll have to do their part to get Lou Anarumo’s defense back on track. Hendrickson and Hubbard can’t play every snap. The more they can rotate, the fresher they’ll be at the end of the season.
• Evan McPherson is one such weapon.
• I’m very curious to see what happens at some positions on the 53-man roster. Will they keep five tight ends? How about five safeties? Six or seven cornerbacks? How many running backs?
• Jermaine Burton will be very good with Joe Burrow at quarterback.
• Things officially went downhill in the second half, but the Bears’ substitutes had just entered the game at that point and they were playing against guys who had played the entire first half.
• The punter position is far from being decided.
• Nobody was hurt and that was what mattered.

Random thoughts on the Bengals as we head into the final week of the preseason:

• Trent Brown was back at practice on Monday. Hopefully he’ll be fit for Week 1. Big guys with back problems worry me, and there’s no bigger guy than Brown.
• Depending on Brown and Mims’ health in Week 1, I think it would be smart for the Bengals to sign a veteran free agent tackle. They can’t get into a position where they can trust one of Burrow’s teams with Cody Ford, Carman, or someone like him.
• McPherson has extended his contract and I fully expect Chase to get his contract before Week 1.
• When it was announced that Hill was moving to cornerback, I thought he was going to be Mike Hilton’s replacement in the slot. At Michigan, he played a lot as a nickel cornerback. I’m pleasantly surprised at how well Hill has played outside so far this preseason. Dax Hill, maybe there’s still hope for you.
• The Bengals have some really good linebackers. Logan Wilson and Germaine Pratt are both top-notch. ADG is a starter on some teams and Joe Bachie is a great backup and special teams ace. And then there’s Njongmeta, who’s making waves.
• I wrote earlier last week about how bad the Bengals have been at evaluating and drafting offensive linemen over the past 10 years. The best two they’ve drafted were Jonah Williams and Cordell Volson, and neither of them are Pro Bowlers. Hopefully Mims and Lee break the trend.
• Kris Jenkins showed his strengths on Saturday. He will be needed as a rotational DT this year, especially to stop the run. If he can pressure the quarterback from the middle of the line, that would be a huge advantage.
• I’m really excited to see what the Bengals have in McKinnley Jackson. Hopefully he’ll be healthy soon.
• Just out of curiosity, how would you feel if the Bengals eventually moved their stadium out of downtown? I only ask because the Bears will soon do that and so will the Browns. There are many teams whose stadiums are outside of city limits (Bills, Patriots, Jets/Giants, and others). I doubt that will ever happen, but if it did, would you have a strong opinion on it? I don’t think so.
• Do you like the orange shorts? I do, but I don’t know what to think about orange shorts and an orange jersey. That’s a lot of orange. I think I’m liking it more and more.
• My wife and I have been talking about the experience of attending a game versus watching a game on TV. Both have their good and bad points. Which do you prefer?

Relevant lyrics:

This might not be an easy time
There are rivers to cross and mountains to climb
And some days we may fall apart
And some nights may be cold and dark
But nobody wins because they are afraid of losing
And it is worth choosing the hard path
One day we will look back and smile
And I know it was worth every mile.