Cincinnati Bengals coach Zac Taylor recently reflected on his team’s win against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 11. Here’s what he had to say.
Taylor praised pretty much every player on the roster with special shout-outs to Joe Burrow, Eli Apple, Evan McPherson, and Tyler Boyd.
Taylor himself deserved a pat on the back for his play-calling, and he told reporters that the game played out exactly the way he drew it up.
"“It’s one of those games…You always feel really good after a win, but for this one, this one kind of followed what we anticipated could happen if everyone stepped up and made plays.”"
Against a tough Raiders secondary (and with Burrow’s streak of picks), Taylor opted to run the football with Joe Mixon more often, which worked in his favor. Mixon ended with 123 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
"“Every game is going to be played a certain way, and we knew this was a game where we were going to have to run the football. Joe just wants to win, he doesn’t care what it looks like. He understands the role he plays and converted third down’s for us to extend it to get more runs off.”"
Cincinnati Bengals’ Zac Taylor showers everyone with praise after Week 11
Taylor acknowledged that the Bengals’ work wasn’t done and that Cincinnati would play a lot of teams like the Raiders — similar record, vying for playoff seeding.
Still, the Bengals head coach offered a bright outlook for the rest of the season, noting a significant change in the team’s mentality.
"“I think we’ve really matured. We lost 15 games in a row, on the road, I don’t know if you remember that, I do. This team has really turned their mentality. When we get on a plane, get on a bus, go to a hotel, we come out there really focused and they’ve handled that really well…This is a city with a lot of challenges, and I thought our guys handled it maturely. I’m just proud of them.”"
There isn’t much to say about Week 11’s game, other than it was a solid, well-rounded performance from the Bengals, who finally snapped their two-game losing streak.
Onto the next one.