Unfortunately, slow starts have become somewhat of a theme for the Cincinnati Bengals under head coach Zac Taylor. That trend will continue in 2024 as the Bengals dropped their season opener to the New England Patriots, 16-10. Cincinnati's loss came despite the facts that they were pretty heavily favored and that the game took place within the friendly confines of Paycor Stadium.
Taylor, who is in his sixth season in his current position, took over as the head coach in Cincinnati prior to the 2019 season, and the team has consistently gotten off to slow starts since then.
Cincinnati has lost the season opener in five of Taylor's six seasons as head coach
The Bengals began Taylor's tenure with 11 straight losses during the '19 campaign -- though the silver lining to that slow start is that it ultimately resulted in the team being in position to select Joe Burrow with the top overall pick in the draft the following year.
Then, in 2020, the Bengals started off the year 0-2-1 before finally getting a win in Week 4 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. In 2021, the Bengals bucked the trend by winning the first game of the season. But, they started off 0-2 in each of the last two seasons, and they're now off to a 0-1 start in 2024 with a game against the Kansas City Chiefs looming in Week 2. If they don't play better than they did in Week 1, an 0-2 start will be very likely.
But, it's certainly not time to push the panic button after a single game. The Bengals faced a lot of uncertainty regarding player availability heading into the game against New England, and the first game of the season is traditionally when teams knock some lingering rust off. Cincinnati's starters didn't play much in the preseason, at all, so it makes sense that they would still have some cobwebs to dust off.
Plus, the Bengals made it all the way to the AFC Championship after starting 0-2 in 2022. So, serious success after a slow start obviously isn't impossible. But it's also not ideal to consistently start slow and have to start the season by digging yourself out of a hole.
Taylor has done an objectively good job during his time in Cincinnati, but it is fair to wonder why his team's continue to struggle out of the gate. Now, there's added pressure on the Bengals to travel to Kansas City and pull out a win over the Chiefs next weekend in order to avoid yet another 0-2 start.