Zac Taylor Isn’t Addressing The Problem
Credit: Sam Greene via Imagn Images
“Losses just kill me and I don’t think that’s ever going to change.”
“I think players like being coached, I think they enjoy working hard, but you have got to be organized. What I think is enjoyable is playing the game right and to be honest trying to kick someone’s ass.”
That was a quote from Cincinnati’s head coach, showing that he deeply values a culture of winning and excellence. These quotes bring optimism to a city that hasn’t won a major sports championship since 1990.
However, these soundbites were not from Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor. They were from new Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona.
"I think players like being coached, I think they enjoy working hard, but you have got to be organized…..what I think is enjoyable is playing the game right and to be honest trying to kick someone's ass."#Reds new manager Terry Francona pic.twitter.com/nvalLd7oW7
— Chatterbox Sports (@CBoxSports) October 7, 2024
The Bengals have gone from consensus Super Bowl contenders in the preseason to 1-4 and in last place in the AFC North. They are the only NFL team that currently has an 0-3 record at home. The only other winless teams at home are a list of the usual suspects: The Carolina Panthers, Cleveland Browns, New England Patriots, New York Giants, Tennessee Titans, and perpetually-choking Dallas Cowboys (all 0-2). This is the kind of company this “Super Bowl contender” is keeping now.
The Bengals keep finding themselves on the losing end of close games, and it would probably look even worse if not for Joe Burrow playing at an MVP level. He is first in the NFL with 12 touchdown passes, second in QBR to Josh Allen, second in QB rating to ageless wonder Joe Flacco, sixth in total yards, second in completion percentage to Jayden Daniels, and has only taken 11 sacks. His performance is a huge reason that, despite the 1-4 record, the Bengals only have a -5 point differential.
The defense, on the other hand, has been a glaring weakness. The Bengals have allowed 145 points through five weeks, which is second-worst in the NFL only because the Panthers exist. They are one of three teams who currently allow an average of 150-plus rushing yards per game. The Bengals’ entire defensive unit has only 6 sacks all season; Aidan Hutchinson (6.5) has more sacks all by himself.
Cincinnati’s defense has seriously faltered over the last few weeks, and allowing 41 points to Baltimore on Sunday showed that things are going from bad to worse. Instead of giving a Francona-style ass-kicking that the Bengals desperately need, Taylor spent his recent press conferences praising the struggling defensive unit.
“Our guys did a great job,” Taylor said regarding the team’s defensive performance. “They made some plays in the passing game. I mean, you guys watched the same game I did. (Lamar Jackson) runs around back there 20 yards deep and finds some explosives — how many guys do that? I thought our guys were relentless with their effort and they were going to make some plays.”
It’s obvious that the offense has been tasked with picking up the slack of a defense that simply looks lost. Instead of specifically referring to the clear weak point of the team, Taylor diffused responsibility, saying the team as a whole needs to improve.
“I think it’s better just to talk wholesale,” Taylor said. “I don’t think there’s been an area so far we’re good enough in. Everything has to improve. Everything plays off of each other, you know? There’s things that can happen all around it to make that play better.”
Taylor has also been criticized for his play-calling, getting blasted this week for his handling of the overtime period, when the Ravens gift-wrapped Cincinnati a potential winning drive with a botched-snap fumble. Instead of attacking Baltimore’s pass defense, which Burrow had picked apart for four quarters, the Bengals called three straight runs to Chase Brown against the NFL’s stingiest run defense. Taylor said that a pass play was called on first down, but Burrow audibled to a run, which went for no gain. Instead of shifting gears, Taylor dialed up two straight runs after that, and they went for three and zero yards, respectively.
To his credit, in the face of criticism of his conservative play-calling by way of both Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase, Taylor did take accountability for the lack of aggression in overtime.
“I have to make decisions that I’ll take full blame for when they don’t go our way and we lose the game,” Taylor said. “That’s part of my job. That’s part of this profession. That’s what I love about it, to be honest with you. But again, I like that those guys play with emotion. They want to make the plays to win the game. And they don’t get opportunities, they’re frustrated by it. I’m fine with that.”
Many fans pointed to the loss as a rinse-and-repeat of the overtime loss to San Francisco in 2021, in which the ball was taken out of his star quarterback’s hands with the game on the line. Three years later, Taylor made the same decision in a similar situation with the season potentially on the line, and it once again cost them the game.
Sunday’s loss to Baltimore can be attributed to mistakes, poor crunch-time decision-making, and just plain old hard luck. Whatever the reason, the result is the same: the Bengals are 1-4, and the defense and coach cost the team a much-needed divisional victory on Sunday. Unless Taylor begins to play to his team’s strengths and fully address the team’s weaknesses instead of saying “everything needs to get better,” fans may start a petition to have Francona and his firey spirit take on a second gig in Cincinnati.
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