As the winless Bengals get ready for round two with the divison rival Steelers, the mismatch on the sidelines will be obvious.
There are not many people out there putting first year head coach Zac Taylor on blast for the Bengals 0-10 start. That is somewhat fair as he inherited a tough situation. But that argument loses steam when you consider this week’s opposing coach.
Bengals fans hate any praise for the Steelers. If you are one of those fans who can’t bear to read it, my apologies. There were some who called for Mike Tomlin’s job after the Steelers missed the playoffs last year. Pittsburgh stuck with Tomlin who got the job in 2007.
Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown left the Steelers in the offseason. You cannot adequately replace two guys with ten Pro Bowls between them in one offseason. On top of that, future Hall of Fame quarterback Ben Roethlisberger went down for the season with an elbow injury in Week 2.
Pittsburgh has used three quarterbacks this year. Running back James Conner has missed some time and may miss more. Top receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster is in concussion protocol. Center Maurkice Pouncey is facing suspension.
Despite all of this, the Steelers are 5-5 and a game back of a playoff spot in the AFC. Tomlin deserves a statue and a street in Pittsburgh.
Looking at everything Tomlin has dealt with and where his team is, you mean to tell me Zac Taylor can’t win a single game in ten tries? Come on now. Worse yet, Taylor’s background is offense. However, his team has lost games where the Seahawks were held to 20 points, the Raiders were held to 17, and the high flying Ravens managed just 23 points in the first meeting with the Bengals.
Not only is Taylor not the solution in Cincinnati, he is a large part of the problem. That will become even more evident this Sunday as he goes up against one of the best coaches in the business.