The Key for the week of August 19, 2025
Feeling good about the new look Bengals defense?
Well, not many people are right now, even though the Bengals beat Washington Monday night in the second of three pre-season contests.
“Cincinnati still can’t stop the run,” said Jason Kelce.
“Trey Hendrickson needs to be paid,” said ESPN’s Mina Kimes.
“Jordan Battle had a chance at the safety position to come up and take a big hit on (Washington quarterback Jayden) Daniels, and he just failed to make a play.”
Coach Taylor keeps saying that the Bengals aren’t showing all their defensive plays in pre-season for their opponents to see. Fans would just like to see SOME defensive plays, especially against the other team’s #1 offense. Al Golden has one more pre-season matchup to polish the defense, and the Bengals front office has less than a month to figure out what to do with Trey Hendrickson. If Golden’s defense is based upon pressuring the quarterback, Hendrickson needs to be on the field. Monday night he was at the game, but in street clothes, not Orange and Black.
Reds still in it
After two soul crushing losses to the Brewers, the Reds managed to avoid the sweep (the only MLB team not to be swept so far this season) on Sunday and end Milwaukee’s 14-game winning streak. Now comes the dreaded West Coast Swing. This trip has historically been deadly since the days that only the Dodgers and Giants were out that way. This time around, it’s the Angels, Diamondbacks and Dodgers on the trip before the Reds come home to face division foe St. Louis. The Wild Card is still a possibility, but the team needs to get healthy. Nick Lodolo’s blister is healing up enough that he got some bullpen work in last weekend, and indications are he may be ready to face the Dodgers. Tyler Stephenson has a jammed thumb and has seen limited action, while rookie pitcher Chase Burns is nursing a flexor injury. A healthy Reds team is a team that could make some noise down the stretch.
Are you ready for some football?
This, the high school kind. High School football starts in the Tri-State this week, and some usual suspects are in the USA Today Ohio Super 25 rankings, with Moeller leading the way at #1, followed by Anderson at third and St. X fifth in the state. Also ranked from our area, Lakota West (18), Winton Woods (19), Princeton (24) and Taft (25). Even if you didn’t attend any of these schools, it’s worth it to take in a high school game in Ohio, Kentucky or Indiana this season and see some high level prep football.
Ben’s Best Bet
Yes, Ben was disappointed that the men’s final at the Cincinnati Open turned out to be a forfeit by Jannik Sinner to give Carlos Alcaraz the title, but Sinner wasn’t the only player struggling these past two weeks in the Southwest Ohio heat and humidity. On to the U.S. Open, where mixed doubles is already under way (Sinner withdrew from doubles, even before play started). If you’re looking for favorites, look no further than the Cincinnati Open champions, Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek. Why? Each of the last four Cincinnati Open winners, both men’s and women’s, all went on to win that year’s US Open. Ben says, easy choice, go with the favorites.