The Cincinnati Bengals were one of what will be very few teams to play their biggest stars in the first week of preseason action.
Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, and the vast majority of all the Bengals' No. 1 offensive and defensive units saw the field against the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday night, and it's the smartest thing the team could have done.
It's no secret that the Bengals are terrible in September. In the last three seasons, the Bengals are 4-7 in the month of September, and they have started 0-2 in each of the last three years. They don't stumble out of the gate, the gate just doesn't open as their top heavy roster try to use all of their combined strength to shove it open. Finally, on October first, they all burst out of said gate to try and catch the rest of the AFC.
Playing Burrow and Co. in August at least gets their collective feet wet and gets them in a bit of a groove ahead of Week 1, rather than the first game, and the subsequent first month of the season being used as their preseason to shake off all the rust. They should see playing time in the remaining two preseason games, as well and make sure they are as well-prepared as humanly possible to face the Browns in Cleveland.
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