Cincinnati — Even the best efforts of edge defender Ahmed Hassanein couldn’t prevent the Detroit Lions from suffering a loss in their preseason opener against the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday night.
Hassanein had a pair of sacks, including a third-quarter strip sack, and several additional quarterback hits as the Lions dropped the exhibition contest at Paycor Stadium, 16-14.
Hassanein’s performance was a continuation of what we’ve seen from the second-year edge defender through 11 training camp practices. He had a sack of Bengals starter Joe Burrow on his first snap of the game, later pressuring backup Joe Flacco on consecutive plays — including one that ended with a hit on the quarterback — and finally, coming off the edge to smack the football from quarterback Josh Johnson’s hand in the red zone with 7:40 left in the third quarter.
Undrafted rookie quarterback Luke Altmyer had a decent first half as a passer, going 6-for-10 for 69 yards in the first quarter, but he was removed from the game early in the second quarter when he fumbled a handoff to running back Jacob Saylors near Detroit’s goal line, leading to the first half’s lone touchdown. Two plays after the fumble, Joe Flacco hit tight end Jack Endries to give the Bengals a 10-0 lead with 9:30 left in the second quarter.
Altmyer also had an interception on the opening drive, but it came on a pass that went through wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa’s hands, hit him in the facemask, and popped up for Bengals defensive back Jordan Battle, who snagged it for the turnover with 12:44 to go in the first quarter.
Altmyer reentered the game to begin the second half, going 7-for-11 passing for 61 yards in the final two quarters, the majority of which came on the Lions’ final offensive series. He finally got Detroit in the end zone with 1:35 left in the game, hitting Tarik Black on a shallow crossing route that went for a 24-yard score, then kept the ball on a zone read to punch in a two-point conversion. Lions quarterback Josh Dobbs, who signed with the team earlier this week, was 4-for-8 passing for 32 yards.
The Lions’ onside kick attempt was recovered by Cincinnati. The Bengals ran down the clock to 32 seconds left and punted to Detroit’s 9-yard line. Altmyer heaved the ball downfield on the first play of the drive and was intercepted by Bengals defensive back Russ Yeast.
Rookie tackle Blake Miller, Detroit’s first-round pick in April’s NFL Draft, had a solid preseason debut. He played the entire first half and was rarely noticeable on the field — arguably the greatest compliment an offensive lineman can receive.
Running back Jacob Saylors, who’s had an excellent camp as a rusher, recorded eight carries for a game-high 55 rushing yards and added three catches for 28 yards. Lions rusher Raheem Blackshear had five carries for 33 yards.
The Bengals’ first-team offense moved the ball well on their second drive against the Lions’ second-team defense, but sent their field-goal unit out after Lions edge defender Eric O’Neil delivered a big hit on a third-down incompletion by Burrow. Evan McPherson’s 56-yard attempt in the rain was good, giving the Bengals a 3-0 lead. McPherson’s second field goal came after Hassanein’s strip-sack forced a fourth-and-long.
The rain picked up as the first half rolled on, resulting in some sloppy football. Bengals running back Kendall Milton picked up a snap that was rolled on the ground by Cincinnati’s center, but immediately lost the football with no defender interference. Lions rookie defensive back Keith Abney II scooped up the ball to give the Lions the ball at their own 13-yard line at 10:37 in the second quarter.
Abney had an impressive debut, recording four solo tackles.
In a hyper-competitive position battle, none of the team’s receivers gained separation among their peers until Black’s 24-yard touchdown reception with under two minutes to go.
Following the turnover and a penalty on Lions guard Miles Frazier, Altmyer lost a handoff to Saylors, which resulted in another fumble that was recovered by Cincinnati, giving the Bengals the ball back at Detroit’s 7. Two plays later, Cincinnati took a 10-0 lead with 9:40 left in the second quarter when Flacco found tight end Jack Endries for a 7-yard score.
Frazier, a second-year lineman who’s fighting for a spot on the roster, was tagged for three holding penalties in the first half. He remained in the game for the second half, switching from left guard to right tackle, where he got beat for a third-down sack of Altmyer in the fourth quarter.
Lions cornerback Ennis Rakestraw Jr. left the game with 11:38 to go in the second quarter after making a tackle on Bengals running back Tahj Brooks. Mekhi Wingo was also taken back to the locker room in the final seconds of the first half after being spotted rubbing his neck while walking off the field with trainers.
Jake Bates made a pair of field goals to trim the Lions’ deficit before halftime. He unofficially made three; Campbell accepted a penalty to give the Lions’ field-goal unit an extra rep after he made a 46-yard kick, resulting in an official make from 41 yards with 38 seconds left in the half.
After a big return by Cincinnati on the kickoff, Lions rookie defensive lineman Skyler Gill-Howard forced Bengals quarterback Josh Johnson into a fourth-down grounding attempt. That left enough time for Bates to make a 52-yard field goal as time expired, trimming the deficit to 10-6 at halftime.
McPherson added a 41-yard field goal with 10:31 left in the game to make it 16-6, Bengals.
nbianchi@detroitnews.com
@nolanbianchi
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Ahmed Hassanein arrives in Lions’ 16-14 preseason loss to Bengals
Reporting by Nolan Bianchi, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Nolan Bianchi, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
