Hubbard liked Bengals’ effort vs. Chiefs
CINCINNATI — After playing just eight snaps Saturday in the Bengals’ exhibition game against the Kansas City Chiefs, second-year defensive end Sam Hubbard had a chance to soak in the rest of the game from the sideline.
The defense surrendered 400 yards in a 38-17 loss to one of the league’s top offenses from last season, giving fans flashbacks to 2018 when the Bengals ranked last in net defense and 30th in points allowed.
Although this was just the first game under the new staff and starters were limited, Hubbard said players still “have to look at that performance overall” to see how they can improve. The next chance comes Thursday at the Washington Redskins.
“It’s the first preseason game, (so) there are going to be a lot of errors, a lot of technique and things to correct, but we played hard and fast,” said Hubbard, who played at Ohio State. “Even the young guys, down in numbers — I think we had four D-linemen for the whole second half and they really grinded it out and played through being tired. We have a lot to correct and that’s what we are doing right now.”
Hubbard, who replaces departed end Michael Johnson as a starter, still believes the defense can be better than last year, and in all reality, Saturday’s game isn’t a fair test of how the Bengals might look Sept. 8 at Seattle. Cincinnati used the game as a chance to give playing time to a lot of young players who don’t have a lot on video yet.
Some players stepped up more than others, and 2018 fifth-round draft pick Andrew Brown was one of those who shined. He finished with two tackles, a sack for a 6-yard loss and three quarterback hits, as he played 79 percent of the snaps on defense.
“It felt so good (getting that sack),” Brown said. “Now I just have to feed off of that energy I had during that game and keep my momentum going forward. … Just finally being able to show that I belong at this level is amazing. But I want to keep doing it. I got to stay consistent.”
As for Hubbard, he also looks forward to more opportunity in his second year after a strong rookie season in which he played all 16 games off the bench and recorded 39 tackles with six sacks. He hopes he and the team can take bigger steps in Year 2.
“They are definitely going to get the high energy and speed I played with last year,” Hubbard said when asked what fans should expect from him this year. “I’ll be a little bit stronger, and I want to be more dominant in the run game and just make my presence known. Just be a reliable guy out there on the field that’s always going to get to the ball, fly to the ball and make some plays and celebrate with my teammates.”