Bengals vs. Falcons GAMEDAY Preview: 'Fun Guys' Take the Field

Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith seems just as excited to see his starting offense take the field and execute on Friday night's second preseason game as the fans are.

Tonight, the Cincinnati Bengals (0-1) will be traveling to play the Atlanta Falcons (1-0) at home in the second preseason game for each team in a game that could feature more starters than Week 1 did, and based on head coach Arthur Smith's latest comments.

"Bijan [Robinson] and CP [Cordarrelle Patterson]; they're great all-around football players, and we've got a lot of, especially, a lot of young skill guys with unique skill sets. Kyle [Pitts] and Drake [London], Jonnu [Smith], Mack Hollins. We've got a diverse group of offensive weapons. So we can attack in a lot of different ways," Smith said on the Pat McAfee Show.

"It's not just a traditional rushing attack. I mean, Des [Desmond Ridder] is another guy that can extend plays with his legs. I think when you watch us. We've got a lot of guys that are gonna be fun to watch, and the way we'll deploy them is going to be unique compared to everybody else. I never wanted to be boring. We need to win games, but we've also got a lot of fun guys to watch play."

Although the Falcons' first game of the preseason was a win, some fans complained about the lack of starters; sitting players guaranteed to make the roster is typical for many teams because they use the first game to evaluate the guys lower on the depth chart before making cuts.

As we near the regular season, though, expect to see some light action from the exciting players Smith mentioned, such as Atlanta's offensive pillars (Pitts, London, Ridder, Robinson), since scoring will rely on whether or not Ridder can move them down the field and score while playing behind one of the leagues best offensive lines.

WHAT: Cincinnati Bengals (0-1) at Atlanta Falcons (1-0)

WHERE: Mercedes-Benz Stadium (75,000)

WHEN: Friday, Aug. 18, 2023, 7:30 p.m. ET

TELEVISION: WAGA-TV Fox 5 / FuboTV (try it free)

RADIO: WZGC-FM 92.9 The Game

TICKETS: SI Tickets

BETTING: SI SportsBook

SPREAD: Bengals +6.5

TOTAL: 38.5

MONEYLINE: Bengals +220, Falcons -111

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