CINCINNATI — This past week couldn’t have gone much better for coach Zac Taylor and the Cincinnati Bengals.Two days after a dominant close to the joint practice against the Chicago Bears by the rebuilt defense, the roster depth Cincinnati is banking on as a weapon of attack this season showed off in a 27-9 win against Chicago.Staff and players have discussed this as the deepest team since Joe Burrow arrived — including Burrow himself. They’ve been largely proved right through eight quarters of preseason football.Taylor had never won more than one game in a preseason. He will now shoot for the Bengals’ first undefeated preseason since 2006.Here’s a look at what and who are trending up and down for the Bengals after Saturday’s win.Top Plays from Bears @ BengalsUpsWide receiver depthCincinnati looked to reload the depth behind its stars at receiver, and Saturday night served as an exclamation point on that objective.Dohnte Meyers, this training camp’s feel-good story, worked predominantly out of the slot, but he motioned everywhere across the line of scrimmage. He had five receptions for 41 yards and rushed once for 9 yards, all while returning kicks and punts with solid results.Then, fourth-round pick Colbie Young eviscerated Bears cornerback Dontae Manning off the line of scrimmage and separated into the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown. He caught only three of eight targets, failing on multiple contested catches, which are typically his strong suit, but his touchdown provided a dramatic flash of his upside.Then, his former Georgia teammate Noah Thomas broke free on the same route and hauled in an impressive diving touchdown in the back of the end zone from Sean Clifford.Mitchell Tinsley, the breakout star of the 2025 preseason who earned a spot in the rotation last season for the Bengals, hasn’t been as flashy but still has Burrow’s trust in his second year in Cincinnati.Dohnte Meyers was among the Bengals receivers showing off the team’s depth at the position Saturday. (Andy Lyons / Getty Images)Josh Johnson and Clifford combined for 282 yards passing, three touchdowns and one interception. The receiver depth pops even for an 18-year NFL veteran.“For sure, it starts with the top, though,” Johnson said. “You got guys like Ja’Marr (Chase) and Tee (Higgins) leading every day; it’s natural for everybody to raise their level of play because you watch those two guys go out and dominate daily. You see the younger guys; they just naturally pick up on it. (Receivers coach Troy Walters) does a great job of coaching them all really hard. What I love? They run. They all run. When you put pressure on the defense with guys running off the ball, it puts a lot of stress on them and helps a quarterback really see the space open up.”The Bengals have tough decisions to make, especially considering the overflow of options at tight end. These are great problems to have, but perhaps somebody from these positions could be used to flip and shore up a lighter spot (see below)?TE Erick All and C Connor LewNeither player did anything notable in Saturday’s game. There were no standout plays or signature moments. Merely taking the field was the accomplishment.All’s story is well documented as he played in his first game since Nov. 3, 2024, having had two ACL surgeries to repair all the damage in his knee. He’s been a full participant in practices throughout camp, but he can now check the box of returning to game action before he’s thrust into the mix in Week 1.That was the objective and why the plan was for him to play only five snaps. The team and All both just wanted to check that box.“It was definitely a little different getting out there,” All said. “You worry about the unknown and chance you get hurt, stuff like that, that’s always something you are aware of.”Then there’s Lew, who was eased into camp a little bit at a time, moving from a few reps to a few series to a day with the first team and now returning to start at center. He tore an ACL at the conclusion of Auburn’s season last year, but Cincinnati still selected him in the fourth round, looking to put a successor to Ted Karras in the pipeline. He lasted until midway through the second quarter before giving way to Jacob Bayer.Lew is expected to play again next week against the Eagles.If Lew’s path continues, the Bengals can confidently write his name down as Karras’ backup to open the year.“I feel good about this progression he has had,” Taylor said. “He’s done as well as we could have hoped with the limited time he’s got so far.”TacklingAnyone who has watched a Bengals game in the last two years knows what bad tackling looks like. Defensive coordinator Al Golden might not have been fielding his starters, but those who did play were notably effective in getting the Bears to the ground.That means a lot around these parts, with the Bengals desperate to fix that aspect.“I thought we played really clean,” Taylor said. “We got guys on the ground. We will watch the tape and see how many missed tackles, but I thought guys did a great job leveraging the ball, getting guys on the ground.”DownsCB Josh NewtonComing off a productive week of practices, Newton started to feel momentum as he tries to claw his way back into the rotation to make the team.Enjoying days, weeks and even months of good practices has never been an issue for Newton. The problems occur when the stadium lights come on and the game goes live. Those problems showed up again Saturday. Newton allowed Jahdae Walker to get open behind him, nearly falling over in the process for a 36-yard reception. Newton then added a poor effort on a missed tackle reminiscent of so many bad moments from the Bengals’ defenses of the past two seasons.Newton needed to show he could do a better job translating practices to games. That did not happen.Bears wide receiver Jahdae Walker beats Josh Newton for a catch in the first half Saturday. (Katie Stratman / Imagn Images)OL Cody FordOn top of being demoted out of the pole position for the swing tackle spot, Ford endured an ugly combination of plays in the first quarter. The first play was a second-and-1 run up the middle for what would have been a first down. Instead, Ford was flagged for a hold that turned it into second-and-10. He was beaten instantly on the next play by Gervon Dexter, who flushed Johnson out of the pocket and forced an incompletion.The veteran Ford was counted on entering camp to be the sixth man in the offensive line room, but plays like those have come far too often while eroding the team’s confidence in him coming off the bench.The bottom line is that the backup offensive tackle position is a problem spot and Ford was supposed to be the one to solve it. He has not done that.QuestionFord is not alone in exposing the offensive line weakness on the depth chart. Taylor wasn’t exactly exuding confidence about those competing for the spot after the game.“That’s still pretty open,” Taylor said. “There’s guys we are still looking at, and I wouldn’t say there are any decisions that we’ve made there.”Is it time to look outside for offensive tackle help? A spot the Bengals never truly addressed this offseason continues to show up at every milepost. Early in camp, the performances from Ford, Andrew Coker and Javon Foster were disappointing. That prompted Jalen Rivers to kick back out to left tackle for a shot to prove he can play there. Saturday was a rough go for Rivers as he allowed multiple crunching hits on Johnson and committed a false start in the first half.Foster allowed one as well on the right side and added a holding penalty. Coker tossed in a holding penalty, negating a long run in the second half. The Bengals hoped somebody among that group would step up and earn the role in camp, and as the opportunity dwindles to one preseason game left, it doesn’t look as if anyone will.“If a backup tackle has to go in the game and we want to keep playing the way that we play, just got to be able to trust them in the game,” Taylor said. “There is plenty of competition there. We still got two weeks to go with it.”Thus the question: Can de facto general manager Duke Tobin find a veteran another team is willing to part with in the next two weeks? Is there a healthy free agent who could provide an upgrade? Nobody in the league wants to part with even serviceable offensive linemen this time of year. This will be a question the personnel staff must address as cutdown day and waiver-wire evaluation approach.