Things got off to a slow start offensively for the Cincinnati Bengals in their Week 2 matchup versus the Washington Redskins. Fortunately, quarterback Ryan Finley was able to pick up the slack upon entering the game.
Finley enjoyed a strong outing against Washington and has started to solidify his case as the backup to quarterback Andy Dalton. According to Tyler Dragon of the Cincinnati Enquirer, his performance earned some nice praise from head coach Zac Taylor.
“He was very cool and calm. We’ve got a lot of confidence with him in there,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said. “I thought he did a nice job.”
The Bengals took Finley in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft and he has since been competing with quarterback Jeff Driskel for the No. 2 spot. Although Finley is vying for the backup job, there is no question that he had been the best quarterback on the field against Washington.
The first offense struggled mightily to get anything going due to penalties and Dalton finished the night completing 5-of-9 passes for 36 yards. Fortunately, things quickly turned around as soon as Finley entered the game and connected on his first 10 pass attempts and ultimately finished having completed 20-of-26 passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns on the night. His solid outing helped but the Bengals in the driver's seat to a 23-12 win.
Despite all the changes Cincinnati ushered in this offseason, they have made it clear that they intend to roll with Dalton as their starter in the 2019 NFL season. Taylor can take solace in the fact that Finley has started to show plenty of promise as a backup.
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