Week 14:”"Yeah. I mean every loss we've had, they all feel very equal. We feel like we should have won all of them — every game we played in.” -Taylor
At a certain point the blame will need to be placed on coaching. Zac Taylor’s offensive play calling and overall preparation is putting this team at a disadvantage. While Taylor’s “assistant head coach” and special teams coordinator, Darrin Simmons, puts starters in compromised positions and seems to fail at finding talent for key roles. Mishaps from Simmons units from the past two weeks severely hurt this team and could solely be blamed for this week's loss. Injury to the Bengals leading tackler Logan Wilson and Darius Phillips 2 muffed kicks are the reasons why this team lost and now sit outside the playoffs. These two major mess ups are the main reason this team isn't currently winning the AFC North and the 4th seat in the playoffs. Now the Cincinnati Bengals have a major uphill climb to make it to the playoffs, having to win 3 of the remaining 4 games, and beating both the Ravens and Browns. Things are going to need to change from this coaching staff in order to get there.
When rewatching this game and looking back at the Bengals season, there are some major holes in Zac Taylor’s coaching. Every game this offense comes out flat the first half, looking completely stale. They rank 16th in the NFL in points scored in the first half while 2nd in points scored in the second half. There is no major explanation to this other than play calling and having to play from behind. When the Bengals go to a 2 minute offense or have to start throwing the ball, this team becomes electric. That’s primarily because the ball is placed in Joe Burrow’s hand. Burrow currently ranks 8th in total yards, 2nd in yards per attempt, 3rd in competition percentage, and 8th in TD. If we were to compare Joe Burrow to Tom Brady I think most fans would be alarmed. Currently Brady is the frontrunner to win the MVP and currently has 4134 yards, completing 68.2% of his passes with 36 TD and 10 INT. Burrow is currently at 3480 yards, completing 68.8% of his passes with 25 TD and 14 INT. So the main difference is Brady has 554 attempts to Burrows 413. So let's take those numbers and make them even. With Burrow’s competition % and Yards per attempt, with Brady’s attempts per game. Joe Burrow would currently have 4654 yards, 33 TD and 18 INT. He would be the NFL front runner for MVP and I can guarantee the Bengals would have a better record than 7-6. Yet Zac Taylor seems to want to take the ball out of Burrow’s hands. In the first half against the 49ers Burrow started 9/12 for 89 yards, and the Bengals were down 11. In the second half Burrow went 14/20 for 210 yards and 2TD, closing the 11 point deficit to tie the game. Then in overtime the Bengals received the ball and Zac Taylor’s play calling went like this. Pass-26 yards, Run-0 yards, Pass-23 yards, Run-4 yards, Run-3 yards, Sack -4 yards. The Bengals had the ball on the SF 26 yard line and decided to have 2 straight run plays for 7 yards, the Bengals running backs were averaging 3 yards per carry this whole game. Burrow was completing 73% of his passes for 10+ yards per attempt. Why would Taylor take the ball out of his hands? He got you back in the game, he is driving to win you the game. But you squander your chances because your play calling seems to fail this team in key moments. It isn't rocket science, you have one of the best quarterbacks in the league. Matt LaFleur and Bruce Arians, wouldn't take the ball out of Aaron Rodger or Tom Brady's hands. That is the major issue, over managing your best player while others make mistakes all over the field.
Darrin Simmons is the Bengals special teams coordinator in his 19th season. He is the most tenured Bengals coach and from what we have seen this season you would have never guessed. Last week Simmons lost a starter to his unit and had the Bengals leading tackler and someone who plays 98% of the defensive snaps replace him. Well on that play Logan Wilson dislocated his shoulder and might be done for the season. Wilson is the Bengals best linebacker and top coverage linebacker. When George Kittle comes to town you probably want that guy on the field. Wilson’s presence was sorely missed, while Kittle had 13 catches for 151 yards and 1 TD. Kittle accounted for 42.5% of the 49ers total offense and 60% of their passing attack. The Bengals had no solution to the Pro Bowl TE, well maybe they did. He just happened to be injured. If the Kittle stat wasn't bad enough, Simmons return man Darius Phillips muffed two punts which led to 10 points for the 49ers. The Bengals have yet to find a consistent return man all season and the unit seriously failed the Bengals this week. As an assistant head coach you would think this unit would be better prepared but it seems to be the same theme that we see with Taylor this season.
The Bengals now sit 7-6 and as I said previously will need to win 3 of the next 4 in order to make the playoffs. Here's how you do it: come prepared for the game. Try scoring on your first offensive drive, scoring only one TD on opening possession all season is horrible. If you can miraculously go from the 16th best offense in the first half to the 2nd best in the second half, what does that say about your coaching. Players are now saying that the team is coming out flat in the first half. Why are you flat? You have a full week to prepare, why is it the magical 13 minutes between the 2nd and 3rd quarter changes this team. Make those changes during the week and go out there and dominate a full game.
