Auden Tate takes another step toward making Bengals’ 53-man roster

For three and a half quarters, Auden Tate had a night to forget in his preseason debut.

Tate, who relegated to playing with Matt Barkley and Jeff Driskel for much of the night, entered the fourth quarter without a catch while guys like Alex Erickson, Josh Malone and even Kermit Whitfield had made plays.

As good as Tate has been in OTAs and training camp, he needed to flash in the preseason to secure his spot on the 53-man roster.

In the span of three plays, he may have done just that.

Late in the contest, Tate made three great catches in Bears territory with his team trailing by four, though two of them didn’t count. The first was a great jump-ball grab he made over a Bears defender that was…