Subscribe
Follow Us
Zac Taylor has led the Cincinnati Bengals to a remarkable turnaround in his four years thus far with the franchise. When Taylor began his head coaching career in 2019 following years of paying his dues and climbing the ranks, the Bengals were, simply put, not a good side, and they finished with a terrible 2-14 record that welcomed the then-36-year-old coach to the harsh realities of the NFL head coaching gig.
Only two years later, he masterminded the Bengals' surprise run to the Super Bowl, their Cinderella run stopped at its tracks by the surging Los Angeles Rams. Taylor knows his team inside and out, having coached the side through the lowest of lows and (almost) the highest of highs, and thus, he understands that the Bengals' performances in recent weeks aren't indicative at all of the side they have been thus far through Week 8.
After the Bengals were demolished by the Cleveland Browns, 32-13, to drop to 4-4 on the season, Zac Taylor asserted that he has utmost confidence in his players' capacity to turn things around and that such a lethargic performance is a mere one-time thing.
“This isn’t the type of team we are,” Taylor said, per The Athletic (via NBC Sports). “It’s a 17-game season, and this is one game we weren’t at our best in any phase. I’m confident that’s not who we are.”
Article Continues Below
Taylor will definitely hope that such a performance isn't a sign of things to come, especially with the Bengals faced with a myriad of injury concerns to cornerback Chidobe Awuzie and wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase, among others.
Quarterback Joe Burrow ended up struggling during their Week 8 defeat, throwing one interception and getting sacked five times, and the Bengals were on pace to get shut out before rescuing 13 points when the game was out of reach. Nevertheless, it's been Taylor who's coached Burrow for his entire career, and he knows just how capable the 25-year old is of turning things around when the team especially needs it.
Still, in spite of the dispiriting loss to the Browns, the AFC North division crown is still well within their sights as teams approach the halfway mark of the season. The Browns are the Bengals' bogey side anyway, having won only one game against them in nine attempts over the past five seasons. The Baltimore Ravens are only ahead by a game on the win-loss column, and Zac Taylor's Bengals could very well string together a few good games to get the team where they aim to be come season's end.
