Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor took a lot of heat during the team's four-game losing streak. Funny how things often change in the NFL with just one massive win.
Well, it's more than that, isn't it? Credit the front office for swinging a trade for Joe Flacco, and to Taylor for adapting the offense to fit Flacco's skill set and Cincinnati's personnel. It's translated to renewed hope for the 2025 season.
All that said, Week 8's showdown with the New York Jets marks a pivotal point where the Bengals can't afford a letdown. One of their most maligned units that fared well in the big win over the Steelers might be getting an unwelcome shakeup if Taylor isn't careful.
Zac Taylor shouldn't overthink reshuffling Bengals' ascending offensive line
The reality is, no matter who lines up at offensive line for Cincinnati against Gang Green should get the job done well enough to win. It's just that the Jets have only yielded 13 points in each of their last two games, so their defense is not exactly a pushover.
Led by the likes of All-Pro defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, New York boasts a formidable front that could give the Bengals problems on the interior in particular.
Rookie third-round pick Dylan Fairchild is back from a mishandled injury situation and appears to be supplanting Dalton Risner at left guard. This is despite Fairchild's NFL growing pains as a first-year pro and how much of an upgrade Riser is at that spot right now.
Dalton Risner has been a Top 20 graded guard (PFF) the last 2 weeks as the Bengals offense has gotten going. https://t.co/FbaI58WVKh
— Gridiron Grading (@GridironGrading) October 22, 2025
Then we have Jalen Rivers starting at right guard. He was drafted in the fifth round this year. It shows. He's not very good. In fact, PFF rates him 77th out of 78 qualifying guards.
Rivers replaced Risner at right guard in the first place. Lucas Patrick is also off of injured reserve after going down in Week 1. You're telling me Risner and Patrick aren't superior options to Rivers?
I get, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" to some degree, but Rivers is not up to par.
Does the coaching staff not realize that the statuesque Flacco is one bad hit or blown pass blocking assignment away from the offense reverting to Jake Browning as QB1? That's a scary thought just in time for Halloween SZN.
The offensive line is a constant issue in Cincinnati. Now there's a real chance to solidify it.
Solidify it? Ha! What a concept. Instead, the apparent plan is to roll with two "mid" (read: poor) rookies at the guard spots, where the team badly needed an upgrade heading into 2025?
I swear it's almost like the Bengals have had such a poor draft record that they're shoehorning their current rookie class in any way they can to try to manifest a world where they know how to develop players on a consistent basis.
That's just not been the case at all. Sorry to break the bad news.
Stalwart linebacker Logan Wilson requested a trade once he was benched for fourth-rounder Barrett Carter. The Bengals used another premium asset on an off-ball starting linebacker in Round 2 selection Demetrius Knight Jr., too.
This whole narrative of Taylor falling into the same trap is twofold. Sacrificing higher-quality play from veterans now for the development of uber-dubious rookies is certainly a choice. And disrupting the o-line by downgrading from Risner to Fairchild, only to stick with Rivers at right guard? Make it make sense, yo.
Feels like a lot of overthinking going on here. Time will tell what the starting five in the offensive trenches is on Sunday and going forward.
My votes are Risner at left guard, where he's excelled the past two games, and Patrick back at right guard, since he, you know, started there in Week 1 after all. But that's just me!