Bengals Coach Zac Taylor Puts Himself On The Hot Seat
Zac Taylor is in trouble now.
No, he's not getting fired today. Or tomorrow. Or probably unless the Cincinnati Bengals continue to flounder as they have been, and he continues to treat overtime as a time not to lose.
But the Cincinnati Bengals coach is under the proverbial microscope now.
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - SEPTEMBER 29: Head coach Zac Taylor of the Cincinnati Bengals # of the Cincinnati Bengals watches his team play Carolina Panthers during the game at Bank of America Stadium on September 29, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
Taylor Shrinks From Danger
Because Taylor seemed to shrink in the overtime period that ultimately decided Sunday's 41-38 loss to the Ravens.
And that's a rough look for the head coach of a team that's 1-4 in a season that is supposed to be about chasing a Super Bowl championship.
"We still believe in each other and we have a tremendous opportunity to show what we're about going forward," Taylor said after the loss. "People can write us off if they really want to. I'm not dumb enough to do that.
"I believe in these guys and I know what we showed out there today and there's brighter days ahead in 2024 in this season. And I'm excited to watch these guys rebound to do that."
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - SEPTEMBER 29: Head coach Zac Taylor of the Cincinnati Bengals looks on before the game against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium on September 29, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
Questionable Overtime Play-Calling
That sounds great.
It sounds courageous and full of bravado even.
But none of that courage and bravado manifested itself in Taylor's play-calling in overtime. And that is perhaps a reason his team lost.
Let's go to that overtime when the Bengals seemed to catch a huge break when Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson fumbled on Baltimore's first possession.
And the ball fluttered around on the ground before Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt scooped it up and advanced it to the Batlimore 38-yard line.
So the Bengals were looking pretty good at that point.
Bengals In Position To Win (Sort Of)
Cincinnati has got arguably the most explosive offense in football. They have the second-highest paid quarterback in the NFL in Joe Burrow.
They have arguably the best wide receiver combination in the NFL with Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
All these guys together Sunday combined for five touchdowns.
So the Bengals were in position to maybe win their second game in a row.
Except Zac Taylor lost his nerve.
No other way to portray it.
CINCINNATI, OHIO - OCTOBER 06: Joe Burrow #9 of the Cincinnati Bengals throws a pass against the Baltimore Ravens during the fourth quarter at Paycor Stadium on October 06, 2024 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Taylor, who calls the offensive plays, says he called a pass on first down, but Burrow audibled to a Chase Brown run off left guard on first down.
Then Taylor ordered Brown to run off right guard on second down. And on third down the coach dialed up a belly play up the middle to line up for a field goal.
Taylor felt content setting up for a 53-yard field goal attempt by Evan McPherson to win the game. Except McPherson missed the kick.
And the Ravens got the ball back and one 51-yard run by Derrick Henry later, kicked an actual winning field goal.
"We feel like we're in field goal range," Taylor explained afterward. "And there are, there is, we've thrown the ball in that situation before. We called a pass. Joe actually did a great job of getting us back into a run because the look was not there to throw it.
"And so it was good management by him. We still got a couple of yards out of it and then we were in a position to win [it with] the field goal and we though we'd win it with that."
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - SEPTEMBER 29: Head coach Zac Taylor of the Cincinnati Bengals looks on during the second quarter against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium on September 29, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
Bengals Fall To 1-4
They didn't win it with that. They lost it with that.
So why did Taylor trust his field goal kicker more than Burrow, who passed for 392 yards with five TD passes – including two to Chase and two more to Higgins?
It's because he was weighing what could go wrong more than what could go right.
"A sack, a holding penalty," he said. "All the things that can knock you back. So when you're in field goal range, and you believe in your kicker, it really is as simple as that."
No, wrong.
If a coach is going to say he simply believes in his kicker to deliver a long field goal, what he's actually admitting is he believes in the kicker more than the pass protection, and his starting quarterback and receivers to deliver a short completion.
And while Taylor weighed the potential for disaster with his star offensive players, he perhaps obviously didn't equal weigh the potential for a kick sailing wide left.
And, admittedly, this may seem like second-guessing now.
But this isn't second-guessing: Zac Taylor opted to rely on his kicker more than his passing game. That's losing, to use a baseball analogy, without throwing your best pitch.