The Detroit Lions dropped their first of three preseason games, losing to the Cincinnati Bengals by a final score of 16-14.
While there was a late game push from the Lions' offense and some great stops from their defensive line to make it happen, they just couldn't survive the numerous back-breaking penalties committed earlier in the game, or the unreliable hands from their receivers.
We should never, ever overreact to preseason football, but that doesn't mean that we can't have some decent takeaways from the first taste of action out of Detroit since 2025.
10 instant reactions to Lions' preseason loss to Bengals
1. Luke Altmyer might've been quite the steal on the UDFA market
The Lions' scouting department has to be studied if Altmyer continues this level of play for the rest of their preseason.
Despite his two interceptions, Altmyer looked pretty solid in his NFL debut with Detroit. Receivers were letting him down throughout the game with dropped passes left right in their hands, most notably from Isaac TeSlaa. He had a dropped pass that bounced off his helmed directly into the hands of a Bengals defender.
Altmyer's fate might've felt sealed once the Lions brought in Josh Dobbs to compete with him for the QB2 role, and honestly, it still might be sealed even with some great preseason showings. He's a rookie, while Dobbs is a seasoned backup. But, it's nice to see that he's got something to work with, compared to what the Lions were dealing with in their Kyle Allen-Hendon Hooker competition last year.
2. Jacob Saylors should be the Lions' RB3
Saylors just solidified himself as the teams' best option to backup Jahmyr Gibbs and Isiah Pacheco. He's a big, twitchy runner who is hard to take down, and they need someone like that back in their RB room after trading away David Montgomery. He finished up with the most receiving yards out of all offensive players for the Lions, and had a few big runs, as well.
3. Ahmed Hassanein feels like a 53-man roster lock
Hassanein might be one of the best stories to come out of training camp this year - he was injured for his entire rookie season, and was an afterthought with the Lions bringing in reinforcements at the edge through free agency and the draft. He then decided that he wouldn't just back off from the opportunity to snag a job backing up Aidan Hutchinson or anyone else, and has been impressing in both camp and now preseason, too.
He finished up with two sacks and two quarterback hits, and looked like an Energizer bunny the entire evening.
4. Skyler Gill-Howard chased down Josh Johnson
Gill-Howard is 23 years old. Josh Johnson is 40 years old. It feels unfair to praise Gill-Howard for being able to chase Johnson down, or to then sack him, but that's what we've got to do. The rookie looked really solid in his debut as he continues to get better every day with the Lions through training camp.
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5. Detroit's center looked OK
Seth McLaughlin started at center for the Lions against the Bengals, and looked really decent. He wasn't giving up much pressure up the middle, and didn't appear to be a complete liability as a run blocker. Between him, Blake Miller, and Larry Borom, the Lions' offensive line overall didn't look too worse for wear.
6. Detroit's guard room doesn't look OK
Christian Mahogany and Miles Frazier were both disappointing in this contest, stacking up five total penalties which were consistently killing the Lions' momentum on offense. That was part of why they struggled to really score much until the very end of the game. Both need to step things up in camp this week and in their next preseason outing, with eyes on them and the newly-healthy Ben Bartch.
7. Nick Whiteside is a ball hawk
Whiteside was probably the Lions' best cornerback from this contest, finishing up with one pass defended on some excellent sticky coverage downfield. Whiteside's been earning so much praise in training camp, similarly to Hassanein, and it showed up in this game. He really could push Rock Ya-Sin for the starting CB job next to D.J. Reed, but worst case scenario, the Lions have a true ballhawk backing them both up to start the season.
8. Jake Bates is still strong
Fresh off a 52 yard make, Bates tackled the Bengals' kick returner to prevent an easy Cincinnati touchdown. I guess that's just his thing now, but we would love to see him not get hurt in the preseason!
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