The Detroit Lions dropped their preseason opener on the road against the Cincinnati Bengals, falling 16-14 on August 13, but honestly, that score doesn’t even tell half the story. Despite this game being a total slopfest with rough weather, a ton of turnovers, and way too many penalties, it delivered some absolutely massive evaluation value for Dan Campbell’s crew.
This Defensive End Is Flat Out Balling
Seriously, if you haven’t been watching, Ahmed Hassanein is the real deal, and he’s probably the biggest winner from that Bengals game. This guy has been an early breakout star in training camp, transforming both his game and his body from just a year ago. We’re talking about a player who was a question mark for the 53-man roster, and now? He might not even need to play in the third preseason game against the Colts! That’s how good he’s been. He’s carving out an early-season gameday role.
What did he do against the Bengals? Hassanein, a reserve, started his damage by sacking Joe Burrow against Cincinnati’s *starting offensive line*. Think about that for a second. He finished with four tackles, three quarterback hits, a mind-blowing 2.0 sacks, two tackles for loss, and even forced a fumble. His red-zone sack and forced fumble of Josh Johnson was another huge example of his ability to shut down a drive and create a takeaway. After 29 highly productive snaps, this enigmatic edge rusher continues to smash expectations.
Valuable Reps Amidst The Chaos
While Hassanein stole the show, he wasn’t the only young defensive lineman making moves. Skyler Gill-Howard is another guy whose arrow is pointing straight up. He checked another box by consistently finding himself around the football, recording one tackle by navigating the frequent-flier-miles fiend Josh Johnson.
This game was pure chaos, yeah, but Coach Campbell played arguably more players who are actually likely to make the 53-man roster than in any preseason game during his six seasons. Plus, a bunch of unproven and developing players got valuable reps against Bengals starters on both sides of the ball. Look, it’s still preseason, and these evaluations can’t outweigh the first 11 training camp practices, but this game is a crucial piece for development and roster evaluation. Some players definitely strengthened their case for regular-season roles, while others just couldn’t capitalize.
These early evaluations are everything right now. For guys like Hassanein, his performance against the Bengals could mean everything for his early season role, possibly even sidelining him for the third preseason game. You gotta love seeing unproven guys step up like this. The Lions have something special brewing here.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Pride of Detroit.
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