Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor has always had the respect of superstar quarterback Joe Burrow. They've been in lockstep for the most part through three years of no playoff football, multiple Burrow injuries, and many cases of the defense letting Cincinnati down.
But Sunday's 22-17 home loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars was a bit of a different story. Burrow had an awful red zone interception that more or less cost the Bengals the game. Taylor dropped his QB back somewhere close to 60 times.
Ja'Marr Chase's injury is the big storyline to come from Week 4. However, the stark juxtaposition between Burrow and Taylor at the postgame press conference was quite telling.
Taylor sees silver linings, Burrow refuses to make excuses
When Zac Taylor and Joe Burrow stepped to the podium to address the media, I couldn't have anticipated their perspectives being so starkly different. Taylor was first up, and his messaging was about how well the Bengals overcame the absences of Chase and, later, Tee Higgins:
"I am proud of the team for the way they fought. I am allowed to see the silver lining."
And I honestly can see silver linings in my own right. The defense played well for the most part for not having Bryan Cook in the lineup at safety, and having to rely mostly on D.J. Ivey as the boundary cornerback opposite DJ Turner with Dax Hill kicking into the slot.
Some of this may have been Burrow's own individual frustration, because after all, he did have two interceptions, but he wasn't content to see the bright side:
"We're not here for moral victories. This is the NFL. No excuses."
It really did feel like Taylor was striving for moral victory messaging. His entire presser kicked off with acknowledging how great of a football team the Jaguars are.
Zac wants to attack problematic running game; Joe does not care to
I'm personally annoyed by how bad the Bengals are at running the ball. I'm legit questioning whether Chase Brown is That Guy as the feature back, or if Cincinnati needs to explore a trade of some kind to bring in a more explosive playmaker.
Taylor seems keen on improving the rushing attack. Not that he offered many immediate, viable solutions after the game, but still. It's the thought that counts:
"We don't want to rush for 23 yards. That's not what we're about."
Tongue firmly in cheek with that last sentence I wrote. Anyway, when Burrow was asked about the pathetically low rushing output, he had quite the different take:
"My response to that is, let's throw more. I know that's what we do best."
Touché, Joe, but dude. Come on. You can't be dropping back that often, getting smoked in the pocket because Orlando Brown Jr. can't protect your blind side, and expect to make it through 17 games. Never mind the playoffs. We're still gonna make it there, right? Right...?
Where Burrow and Taylor align should give Bengals fans some comfort
Taylor always says he believes in the guys in the locker room. That messaging was the same on Sunday, and the Bengals do deserve to be commended for fighting as hard as they did with so many key players injured against the reigning AFC South champs and a very good team in Jacksonville.
As for Burrow, he doesn't believe the sky is falling and doesn't want to ride the week-to-week roller coaster of the NFL season:
"We had our opportunities the last two weeks, but certainly...this isn't Armageddon or anything. We're still in a great spot. I feel really good about our team."
Well that's good enough for me, Joe.
Week 5's matchup against the winless Miami Dolphins should offer some relief. That's a get-right game if I've ever seen one, despite the fact that it's on the road.
Uhh...the only thing? Both of the Bengals' wins came against the Bucs and Texans. They're a combined 0-8 through Week 4. In other words, my confidence in this Cincinnati squad is shaken. I still believe. Just not as caution-to-the-wind optimistic as I was through that dope 2-0 start.
Add us as a preferred source on Google