Resolve Has Been Crucial In Cincinnati
Oct 8, 2023; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
In professional sports resolve is crucial.
After Joe Burrow injured his calf early in training camp, Bengas fans everywhere watched and worried about their chances in 2023 as he and the team struggled against the Browns, Ravens, Rams and Titans. Simply put, Cincinnati looked like a shell of their normal selves after an ugly loss at Tennessee on October 1. A 1-3 start left plenty of questions.
Fortunately teh Bengals continued their trend of showing resolve and the last four games have started to provide answers.
It’s great to know that Burrow looks to be 100 percent again after his injury. He seems to have his mobility back and is rolling out of the pocket and firing deadly accurate passes at will like he always has. The play at San Francisco where he escaped a sack, rolled to his right and found Tee Higgins for a first down was a thing of beauty. In the first two touchdown drives on Sunday against the Bills, he took the Bengals down the field with no effort at all.
All of it was vintage Joe Cool. He was the Burrow we have been waiting for all year.
The defense, after an early season adjustment period, saved the game against Seattle, stopping Geno Smith on a late fourth-down attempt and holding the Seahawks to 13 points. The unit also came up big in the two ensuing games as they held the Niners to 17 points and picked off Brock Purdy two times before holding to 18 points a high-octane Bills attack that put up 48 on Miami.
There’s no doubt that losing Vonn Bell and Jessie Bates to free agency hurt, but the defense seems to be rounding into who we thought they would be.
The resolve of this team and the culture that seems to have been instilled here in Cincinnati is something that can’t be denied. Down 21-3 in the 2021 AFC Championship game at Kansas City? No problem. 0-2 start last year? No problem. 1-3 start this year? No problem. This team has demonstrated an ability to overcome adversity.
Throughout Zac Taylor’s first two seasons here, both of which were not good, he preached about building a strong culture. In 2019 and 2020, Taylor continuously told fans and media that better times were on the horizon. Those times eventually came, and they have presented themselves again nine weeks into this campaign.
With the way things are going, it seems reasonable to expect these good times will last the rest of this season. You might think the Thursday night game at Baltimore on November 16 would be a litmus test for the Bengals to see if they’re truly a force to be reckoned with, but it already seems like they are. If there’s one thing these Bengals constantly remind you of, it’s to never doubt them. As long as the Bengals have a cast of characters like Burrow, Chase, Higgins, Mixon, Hendrickson, Hubbard, Wilson, and Pratt this team will round into shape.
The last two games have told this diehard Cincy fan that they can beat anybody in the league and that they are a Super Bowl contender. So, buckle up and get ready for a very exciting remainder of 2023 in the jungle. The Bengals are back.
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