Many Cincinnati Bengals fans have wanted to see a change at head coach for quite some time, and Zac Taylor didn't help his case even with his most ardent supporters in Week 12.
The Bengals couldn't produce enough on offense to reward their defense for what had to be their best all-around effort of the season. It resulted in a 26-20 loss to the New England Patriots at Paycor Stadium, putting Taylor's record at 3-8 for the 2025 campaign.
Joe Flacco deserves blame for the pick-six that accounted for one of the Pats' TDs. However, Taylor's strategic blunder very well might've cost Cincinnati a victory.
Zac Taylor punts on chance to win & angers Bengals fans in loss to Patriots
Instead of going for it on a 4th & 1 from his own 45-yard line, Zac Taylor went the playing-not-to-lose route. He told punter Ryan Rehkow to take a delay of game to give him a little more room to pin New England deep in their own territory.
The ensuing drive resulted in a field goal that stretched the Patriots' lead to 23-13. That chewed up 7:06 of valuable fourth-quarter possession time.
Fans were not happy to put it in the kindest terms possible.
Oh COWARD
— John Sheeran (@John__Sheeran) November 23, 2025
Zac Taylor 👎🏻 you’re 3-7 at home down 7 and don’t go for it fourth and one on the opponents 48 in the fourth quarter…losers lose
— Tommy Strine (@coach_strine) November 23, 2025
The 3-7 Bengals are down 7 and punted on 4th and inches at midfield
— Brayden Henry (@braydenhenry_) November 23, 2025
Zac Taylor congrats on no longer having a job
Watching Taylor punt on that possession, you just knew it was going to come back to bite the Bengals. And that it did.
The hardest thing to defend about Taylor is the fact that his teams can't seem to play complementary football. When the offense is humming, the defense can't stop a nosebleed. When the defense is finally showing up, the Taylor-called offense can't do enough, or get that one trip to the end zone they need to pull out a win.
We've seen this for three seasons running. Three seasons of Joe Burrow's prime. Granted, two of them were hampered by significant injuries, but for all the commendable adjustments Taylor has made along the way, the bottom-line results just aren't there.
I don't think it's Taylor's fault per se that the on-field product is what it is. He's working with the players Duke Tobin is giving him. I just wonder if there's a potential culture-changing force at head coach who could get a little more out of everyone on the roster. You know, like Taylor's Week 12 counterpart Mike Vrabel, who has lifted New England all the way to 10-2 from last season's 4-13 mark.
It'll be fascinating to see how Bnegals owner Mike Brown assesses the damage this offseason. Will it be Tobin on the hot seat, or Taylor? The latter did some real damage on his own account on Sunday.