In the five years since the NFL eliminated one preseason game, moving from four to three, a new trend as taken it’s place: Joint practices.Ahead of a preseason game, the visiting team will come to town a bit early to run a practice or two with the home team before playing in front of fans that weekend.Last year, the Bengals welcomed in the Indianapolis Colts for a pair of joint practices prior to their final preseason game at Paycor Stadium.So far this year, Cincinnati’s brain trust is changing how they go about their regular season preparation. One of the most notable ways this year’s preseason has differed from the past was Cincinnati’s offensive starters playing in the first quarter of Thursday’s game against Philadelphia.Another major change is in time spent with the opposition. This year, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor is keeping preparations as in-house as possible, taking all the time possible to evaluate his team for the upcoming season by saying “no thanks” to joint practices.”I’m thankful this year that we’re not doing that because we’re going to get really good work in for six practices. I think its really good for us to put some install stuff in, tweak some stuff as opposed to locking in on “X” opponent that we’re going to spend three days preparing for, practicing for, and reviewing,” Taylor said. “We just get to spend that on ourselves, and I think that’s really needed right now for this group.”Thursday night’s game against Philadelphia was a bit of a mixed bag for Cincinnati: The first-team offense looked like it hadn’t missed a beat from the offseason, while Cincinnati’s defense—who was missing some key contributors—could not slow down Philly’s second-team offense.The Bengals are next in preseason action on Monday, Aug. 18, against the Washington Commanders in the nation’s capital.

CINCINNATI —

In the five years since the NFL eliminated one preseason game, moving from four to three, a new trend as taken it’s place: Joint practices.

Ahead of a preseason game, the visiting team will come to town a bit early to run a practice or two with the home team before playing in front of fans that weekend.

Last year, the Bengals welcomed in the Indianapolis Colts for a pair of joint practices prior to their final preseason game at Paycor Stadium.

So far this year, Cincinnati’s brain trust is changing how they go about their regular season preparation. One of the most notable ways this year’s preseason has differed from the past was Cincinnati’s offensive starters playing in the first quarter of Thursday’s game against Philadelphia.

Another major change is in time spent with the opposition. This year, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor is keeping preparations as in-house as possible, taking all the time possible to evaluate his team for the upcoming season by saying “no thanks” to joint practices.

“I’m thankful this year that we’re not doing that because we’re going to get really good work in for six practices. I think its really good for us to put some install stuff in, tweak some stuff as opposed to locking in on “X” opponent that we’re going to spend three days preparing for, practicing for, and reviewing,” Taylor said. “We just get to spend that on ourselves, and I think that’s really needed right now for this group.”

Thursday night’s game against Philadelphia was a bit of a mixed bag for Cincinnati: The first-team offense looked like it hadn’t missed a beat from the offseason, while Cincinnati’s defense—who was missing some key contributors—could not slow down Philly’s second-team offense.

The Bengals are next in preseason action on Monday, Aug. 18, against the Washington Commanders in the nation’s capital.