Zac Taylor blames himself, ‘sloppy’ play for Week 13 loss

The Cincinnati Bengals got a bitter taste of reality in a 41-22 loss against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 13.

In the post-game presser, coach Zac Taylor pointed the finger at himself for making some bad decisions throughout the game.

Taylor noted that it was a “sloppy” game all around, with Joe Burrow throwing two picks and Joe Mixon recording a devastating late-game fumble that ended Cincinnati’s hopes of a comeback.

Taylor was especially critical of himself this game, insinuating that he put the team in the “position” to lose. This held true for one atrocious play-call — the 2-point conversion fiasco.

Cincinnati Bengals coach Zac Taylor is in a self-loathing mood after Week 13

Anyone watching the game knew how much of a gaffe that was.

The Bengals had just scored a touchdown and were going for two, since they desperately needed the extra point. Cincinnati called a timeout before the 2-point attempt, but when they returned to the field, the referees called a delay of game on the Bengals offense.

Cincinnati lost yardage due to that penalty, went for the field goal instead, and missed that.

It was a darkly comedic sequence of events that shouldn’t happen to organized teams, and Taylor was all too ready to put the blame on himself.

Taylor did talk about Burrow but only briefly: he declined to reveal anything specific about the hand injury Burrow suffered early in the game, though he did praise the quarterback’s “toughness” and ability to overcome adversity.

There weren’t a lot of positive takeaways this game, and Taylor was as morose as he should be.

Week 13 brings the Bengals’ winning streak to a screeching halt, and Cincinnati will just have to clean up their “sloppiness” next game.