As much as the preseason is about battles to make the 53-man roster, battles also are brewing to make the 45-man active roster on Sundays. Marvin Jones appears to winning one. He's actually winning over a number of players and coaches.
For the third straight game the fifth-round pick out of Cal made an impact, this time hauling in a 15-yard back-shoulder pass from Bruce Gradkowski for a touchdown. Jones caught two passes of more than 40 yards entering the game.
He's competing with third-round pick Mohamed Sanu for the final active receiver spot on Sundays and that competition has taken over his motivation.
“It definitely fuels me,” Jones said. “I know all of us want to be on that roster and traveling with the team. I can only control what I can control on the field and that is making plays on the field, and making big plays -- if I keep doing that -- then the sky is the limit for me. If you do it in the game consistently then you are going to be in a good spot.”
Any player who holds the final receiver spot must offer a contribution on special teams and Jones made his case there as well weaving his way through traffic for an 18-yard punt return. It was the longest Bengals punt return of the preseason.
He was tripped up for a two-yard gain on a second return, but proving he can break a return only adds to his value.
"It was important," said Jones, who only was able to return 14 punts in his senior season for 7.3 yards per attempt. "I didn't get a lot of opportunities in college to actually return it instead of fair catch it. So, I'm still learning sometimes. I just got to go. It feels good being back there and him trusting me to be back there and make plays."
Sanu, on the other hand, has caught four passes for 25 yards in three games. The battle has not been decided, though.
"Marvin Jones keeps doing a great job," Marvin Lewis said. "Sanu is doing a great job. Those guys are pushing to play. That's a positive."
Follow Paul Dehner Jr. for Bengals updates on Twitter at @CBSSportsNFLCIN.
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