CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bengals won their preseason opener against the Detroit Lions, 16-14, for anyone who cares about the final score. They didn’t play particularly well.The starters on offense and defense enjoyed two drives, with the first-team offense managing only one 54-yard Evan McPherson field goal and two hits on quarterback Joe Burrow.Burrow was not especially pleased after the game.“Places we could be better,” Burrow said succinctly, summing up his night. “All you can do is evaluate the reps that you get and grow and learn from it.”Nobody is concerned about Burrow or his crew of stars on offense, though, no matter how imperfect the 2026 debut looked.Thursday’s game was largely about staying healthy, which they did, and seeing players step up in depth competitions. In that respect, there were risers and fallers on both sides of the ball.Here’s a look at four players who helped their cases, three who hurt their cases and one question bubbling to the surface about a prominent offensive starter.Top Plays from Lions @ BengalsHelpedLandon Robinson and Kris JenkinsThe Bengals laid out a battle at the back of the deep defensive line room before camp started. Jonathan Allen would join BJ Hill in a rotation to fill the starting role, but the final spot at three-technique would come down to Jenkins, a second-round pick entering his third season, and rookie seventh-rounder Robinson.Each helped themselves Thursday, making the Bengals’ good problem even harder. Jenkins consistently found himself in the backfield, racking up five tackles, one for loss, and ended a Lions drive with a sack. He even offered a Macarena celebration.He badly needed a debut like this coming off a disappointing 2025.As for Robinson, the 2025 American Conference Defensive Player of the Year had the most impressive rep of any Bengals defensive lineman all night. He split a double team, getting held by both players in the process, with the Lions backed up in their own end. He still ended up hitting the quarterback while drawing the holding flag that backed Detroit up even more.“It’s motivating and good to get that momentum going into the rest of this preseason,” Robinson said.Jack EndriesThe seventh-round pick out of Texas endured a rough stretch of practices this past week, which included a fumble and falling on an open pass from Joe Flacco.When the lights came on Thursday, however, he made every play that came his way. That included the Bengals’ lone touchdown. It wasn’t the most challenging of plays, but Endries smoothly slipped out near the goal line and hauled in the 4-yard pass from Flacco.“I’m happy about it,” Endries said. “Step in the right direction. Now it’s just on to Saturday practice. Keep stacking days and building confidence.”Later, he snagged a third-down reception and made two Lions defenders miss on his way to a 17-yard gain.Endries will need to prove he can hang at the point of attack. His reputation is as a receiving tight end, and he flashed that skill nicely in his debut — along with a powerful spike to christen his first NFL score.“You can’t spike in college,” he said. “I wanted to spike the ball. I’ve never done it before. On the sideline I did it one time just to get ready.”Ke’Shawn WilliamsThe battle for the punt and kick return job has an early leader. Williams, who joined in the middle of last season on waivers from the Pittsburgh Steelers, brought juice to the return game after starter Charlie Jones went out with an injury. Rookie Dohnte Meyers is also in the mix and enjoyed an excellent night at receiver, adding an 11-yard punt return.On Thursday, Williams showed elite burst through an open hole on a kickoff return just before halftime and ripped off a 48-yard return that set the Bengals up in Lions territory. Williams doesn’t bring as much to the table as Jones and Meyers as a receiver, but those are the types of plays that will land him a spot on the active roster.HurtDaijahn AnthonyThe Bengals are keeping a close eye on the fourth safety spot in a battle between PJ Jules and Anthony. Both endured rough moments, including an ugly pass interference on third-and-long by Jules, but Anthony’s stood out.The fourth-year safety twice missed tackles as runners broke through to the second level, including an ugly attempt around the collar on a run that got called back due to a hold elsewhere on the play.The last safety spot will be relied upon as a critical special teams contributor. Yet, on a punt return, Anthony buzzed down the outside and whiffed on the returner, allowing them to spring free for extra yardage. For a player in a position battle, this wasn’t the impression he needed to make.Tahj BrooksIn this offense, running backs must be trusted to catch the ball out of the backfield. There’s no situation where that can be in doubt. Not once, but twice Thursday, the second-year running back dropped passes.The first was a late throw into the flat from Flacco that came in low as it rained, but Brooks still could have hauled it in. The second was more egregious. The Bengals ran a slant for Brooks that cleared space in front of him to take off. Flacco’s throw hit Brooks right between the numbers and fell incomplete.Brooks didn’t see much playing time last year, logging only 47 offensive snaps, so this is an important preseason for him to solidify his role as the third running back behind Chase Brown and Samaje Perine. Those two drops were a rough start.Andrew CokerThe Bengals are searching for a fourth tackle they can trust to fill the spot behind Amarius Mims, Orlando Brown and Cody Ford. Coker is one of the primary candidates. Yet he endured multiple rough moments against the Lions.He allowed a strip sack around the left edge by Ahmed Hassanein that killed a promising drive. He also committed a false start.Nobody was expecting Coker to be a lockdown tackle, but as a whole, this wasn’t his best night.One growing questionShould there be concern about Orlando Brown Jr.?The Bengals extended Brown this offseason, adding two years and $32 million to his contract that was set to expire after this year. He’s held down the left tackle spot since signing from the Kansas City Chiefs in free agency in 2023. Brown was a captain and key cog in the continuity the Bengals are thrilled to boast with all five starters back for the first time in Burrow’s career.Yet, we’ve seen rough moments for Brown getting beat around the edge during training camp by backups Cashius Howell and Cedric Johnson, among others. Those moments planted a seed, but the benefit of the doubt is undeniably given to the 30-year-old four-time Pro Bowler.On the second drive Thursday, that seed sprouted above the soil. Eric O’Neill, an undrafted free agent out of Rutgers, sprinted around the edge and beat Brown handily on third down, hitting Burrow square in the back as he looked to throw. It was the biggest hit of the night on the star quarterback, even greater than the sack that killed the first drive.“It’s never fun. That’s not what we wanted to happen,” Taylor said of Burrow taking two hits. “But, again, we’ll continue to improve.”It’s not that Brown isn’t allowed to get beat on a rep. Or that anybody should be overreacting to preseason football. But this wasn’t Myles Garrett or Trey Hendrickson. This was a 23-year-old kid who transferred from James Madison to Rutgers and only managed 2.5 sacks last year for the Scarlet Knights. He can’t be beating the starting left tackle clean around the edge on third-and-4.This isn’t saying the Bengals need to bench Brown or reconsider available free agents, but periodic struggles in camp and this ugly rep against O’Neill leading to Burrow’s hit broaches the question: What is going on with the Bengals’ left tackle?