For the first time since 2021, the Cincinnati Bengals are 1-0. Even though it was a sloppy, stressful win, fans deserve to celebrate nonetheless. Aside from their usual Week 1 struggles, it's never easy to go on the road to a divisional rival and win, regardless of how good (or bad, in Cleveland's case) they may be.
However, Week 2 is only a couple of days away now, so it's time to look forward to that matchup. While Cincinnati has had its struggles in the first week of the season in the Zac Taylor and Joe Burrow era, the week following has gone even worse. In fact, since being hired on as head coach in 2019, Taylor is a nasueating 0-6 in Week 2 since coming to Cincinnati. And this week, they'll be tested against the Jacksonville Jaguars. On paper, they should be better than the Browns, especially on the offensive side of the ball.
The good news is that Zac Taylor has had success against Jacksonville during his tenure, with a 3-1 record against them, and 3-0 since Burrow came to town (though one of those wins was actually achieved with Jake Browning at the helm, thanks to his incredible MNF performance on the road).
Will Taylor and Burrow finally get their first win in Week 2 of their careers against a team they've done well against in the past? Or will the Jaguars beat the Bengals for the first time in the Joe Burrow era?
Well, if the Bengals are going to win, it'll take these three players having a big bounce-back week after disappointing performances in Week 1.
All stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference.
QB Joe Burrow
The narrative around Burrow struggling until the calendar turns to October persists —and for good reason. This performance, while not as bad as his Week 1 games against the Steelers in 2022 or the Browns in 2023, is perhaps the most frustrating, because this was supposed to be the year he finally came out hot. 2020 was COVID year, 2021 he was recovering from a torn ACL, 2022 he had appendix surgery, 2023 he had the calf injury in training camp, and in 2024 he was recovering from the torn ligament in his wrist. Finally, he has a normal offseason without turmoil, and yet again, the offense was stagnant outside of two drives in the first half.
Now, some blame does go to Zac Taylor, as once again, his playcalling has been called into question; but when the offense struggles, that burden has to fall, at least somewhat, on the star quarterback. Burrow was pedestrian at best against the Browns last Sunday. He didn't turn it over, which is a plus. However, he was routinely missing throws and open guys, and overall looked flustered in the pocket. In a complete 180 from last year, it was the defense that stepped up and got the Bengals the win, while the offense sputtered to the tune of just 7 total yards combined in the second half. 7 yards, across 2 quarters of football. Not enough for one first down.
History shows that Burrow tends to perform better in Week 2. After throwing 4 interceptions against Pittsburgh in 2022, he played a clean game against the Cowboys the following week. After throwing for only 82 yards against Cleveland in a game where the offense only put up 3 points, he threw for 200+ yards and 2 touchdowns against the Ravens a week later. And last year, after struggling against a Patriots team that would go on to win four games, he played solidly against the Chiefs in Arrowhead, throwing for 250+ yards and a pair of touchdowns.
While these aren't great or even good games by his standards, they are still an improvement, and there's good reason to believe that he'll bounce back against the Jaguars in Week 2 this year.
LT Orlando Brown Jr.
Trying to contain Myles Garrett is no easy task, but it felt like Brown was consistently getting worked whenever the former DPOY winner and four-time All-Pro lined up against him. Although he didn't have the worst pass-blocking grade on the offensive line, he's the highest-paid player on said line, so we have to expect more than 2 sacks given up, and the 53.9 pass-blocking grade he was given by Pro Football Focus after Week 1.
This week, his assignment doesn't get much easier. While Josh Hines-Allen doesn't have the same name recognition as Garrett does, he's quietly become a great pass-rusher in the league since being picked by Jacksonville seventh overall in the 2019 NFL Draft. In the six seasons since being drafted, Hines-Allen has accumulated 53.0 sacks, a bulk of which came during an incredible 2023 campaign where he achieved 17.0 sacks on the season. He got the 2025 season off to a stellar start as well, coming top ten in pass rush win rate among all EDGEs in Week 1.
PFF Win Rate among EDGEs through week 1 pic.twitter.com/UivAg7QqYR
— Billy M (@BillyM_91) September 10, 2025
If not facing Hines-Allen, Orlando Brown Jr. will likely be going up against Travon Walker, who is coming off back-to-back double-digit sack seasons. They may not be Myles Garrett, but if Brown struggles like he did against Cleveland, then that Jaguars duo could be wreaking havoc on Joe Burrow.
CB Cam Taylor-Britt
Giving up only 16 points and forcing a pair of clutch turnovers, you would think there wouldn't be anyone on the defense here. Unfortunately, Taylor-Britt's woes from his disastrous 2024 season didn't go away with the change in coordinator. He was abysmal in coverage, routinely getting picked on by Joe Flacco, and always seemed to be a step behind whenever it was thrown his way. Pro Football Reference says he gave up 7 completions for 85 yards and a touchdown, and PFF backs this up with a 36.3 coverage grade.
Understandably, his performance against the Browns has left Cincinnati fans clamoring for his benching in favor of last year's 5th-round pick, Josh Newton, and it feels like the heat is on for Taylor-Britt. Just two years ago, in 2023, the former Cornhusker looked like a promising addition from the Bengals' 2022 draft class and was on track to be a franchise cornerstone at cornerback and potentially work his way up to be one of the best lockdown CBs in the league. Now, it feels like it's only a matter of time before he loses his starting role.
Not only do the fans need Cam Taylor-Britt to bounce back in Week 2-- otherwise, the Bengals might be in for a long day against a much more explosive Jaguars' wide receiver room-- but Britt needs it himself. You can't just say you'll be better next week; you actually have to go out and be better. And with Head Coach Zac Taylor saying he needs to see improvement out on the field, if things look just as ugly for him as they did in the season opener, then his job may very well be in jeopardy before September's over.
That's the situation, the Bengals are 0-6 in the Zac Taylor era (and 0-5 in the Joe Burrow era) in Week 2, and they'll be facing what should be a much tougher opponent this year in their home opener. Will their fortunes change? Or will it be the same story it has been since 2019? If the former is to happen, these three players will need to put on much stronger showings than they did in Week 1.