Bengals Preseason Opener to Include Joe Burrow and Dexter Lawrence, Coach Says It’s About Finding Rhythm

The Bengals are set to begin their preseason slate on Thursday night at Paycor Stadium, with two of the most watched names in Cincinnati lining up for live work. Joe Burrow and defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence are expected to take snaps in the opener, a move that underscores how the Bengals intend to balance coaching evaluation with the early rhythm a preseason game is supposed to create.

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor framed the approach as a matter of timing and feel rather than forcing outcomes. In the team’s preview, Taylor pointed to the idea of “just get that feeling,” language that points to his emphasis on timing on offense and disruption on defense when the game moves at speed, even in exhibition play.

For Burrow, the priority in a preseason opener is typically continuity and clean reads, particularly with a first-phase emphasis on execution. The Bengals will be looking to see how quickly he gets in sync with protections and timing routes, and whether the offensive line and skill players can line up in repeatable patterns under game conditions rather than practice tempo.

On the defensive side, Lawrence’s presence is meaningful for how Cincinnati expects to test its interior matchups. As an anchor-type defensive tackle, Lawrence’s snaps give the Bengals a chance to evaluate how their front responds to double-teams and how their secondary coverage concepts hold up when the pocket or gaps are stressed. It also provides a clearer picture of how the unit communicates when the cadence changes from practice.

The team’s preview ties the “marquee” nature of Thursday’s night game to the wider purpose of the preseason. For Bengals coaches, early snaps are less about establishing final depth-chart order and more about confirming what is working, what is not, and which adjustments are needed as the exhibition season progresses.

With Cincinnati set to host the opener in its own building, the Bengals also get a compressed runway to address lineup and communication questions before the regular season. Watching Burrow and Lawrence early provides the coaching staff a real-time reference point for whether the team is building toward consistency, not just moments.

As the week moves forward, the key storyline will be how the Bengals use the rest of the snaps around Burrow and Lawrence, including which unit combinations earn extended looks. That deployment will help shape what Cincinnati carries into later preseason games, when the emphasis typically shifts toward sharper situational work.