Bengals host – Cincinnati’s Bengals will host the Chicago Bears for a joint practice on Aug. 20, with the teams meeting again in a preseason game at Paycor Stadium on Aug. 22. The practice sets up an early look at the Bears’ revamped defense for Bengals quarterback Joe Burro
Joe Burrow will get a close-up look at the Bears’ rebuilt defense next month—two days before the two teams play in the preseason.
The Bengals will host the Bears for a joint practice on Aug. 20, Bengals coach Zac Taylor told Cincinnati reporters on Tuesday. The teams will then face off at Paycor Stadium on Aug. 22.
For Burrow, the timing matters. The Bengals quarterback will be in Cincinnati’s building for the joint session. when the Bears’ defense will be tested in live work against a starter-level Bengals offense. And for Chicago, it’s another chance to measure how quickly their changes translate to the field.
The matchup also carries a familiar twist in the Taylor family. Zac Taylor will face off against Press Taylor, the Bears’ first-year offensive coordinator. Press Taylor previously served as Ben Johnson’s pass-game coordinator last season, when the Bears beat the Burrow-less Bengals.
Press Taylor has talked openly about the dynamic of coaching alongside a sibling. “That’s my brother, but he’s also a football coach,” Press Taylor said last month. “We share the same interest. Football tends to come up when we’re talking. Things like that come up quite a bit.”
The Bears have already practiced against Burrow before. In 2024, Chicago hosted the Bengals for a joint practice at Halas Hall. That rainy session ended with the Bengals suffering two serious injuries, a moment that was featured on the third episode of “Hard Knocks.”
The Aug. 20 joint practice and the Aug. 22 game don’t just set the teams’ preseason rhythm. They also put familiar faces and past lessons into the same stretch—this time with Burrow expected to be at the center of it for Cincinnati, and the Taylor brothers on opposite sidelines for Chicago.
Bengals Bears joint practice Zac Taylor Press Taylor Joe Burrow Paycor Stadium preseason Hard Knocks