Bengals: Winners and losers from Week 7 blowout win over Ravens

The Cincinnati Bengals marched into Baltimore with a ton to prove. The Ravens had their number in recent years, as Lamar Jackson had previously been 5-0 against them as a starter.

He’s now 5-1 against the Bengals, as Cincinnati’s defense stepped up and held the Ravens offense to just 17 points while the stripes offense went for over 40 points for the first time this season. It was quite a stunning result.

The Bengals winning wasn’t shocking, as we all knew this team was different, but I don’t think even the biggest Bengals homers predicted this squad to drop a 40-burger on Baltimore and hold them to under 20 points. It was a big statement from the Cincinnati Bengals, who are now 5-2 and atop both the AFC North and the entire AFC. Just like we all expected, right?

With that introduction out of the way, let’s take a look at the winners and losers from the 41-17 victory over Baltimore.

Winner: Zac Taylor

Zac Taylor has gotten a lot of crap since arriving to Cincinnati and to be fair, a lot of it has been deserved. He won just six games in his first two years at the helm and he had to prove that he was deserving of being an NFL head coach in year three.

Well, through seven games this year, Taylor has nearly doubled his win total and we’re starting to see what the Taylor-led Bengals can look like when players are healthy and everything is clicking. Taylor’s Bengals had struggled against the AFC North to this point but they’re 2-0 against the division so far.

I know fans are so quick to throw Taylor under the bus but he deserves respect for his game plan and leadership in this one. This is the biggest win in the Zac Taylor era.