CINCINNATI (WXIX) – As Zac Taylor began to speak about what Sunday’s 31-27 comeback win over the Jacksonville Jaguars meant to the Cincinnati Bengals, he formed his right hand into the shape of a claw. Over the course of a long answer, he thudded that hand into the press conference podium nine times. Speaking with his hands as well as with words, Taylor then waved his arms parallel to the table three times. Then, he pounded his left hand into the table twice. He pounded both hands into the table twice.
“I couldn’t be happier that we were in this position in Week 2 so we’ll find out what our team is made of,” Taylor said. “There was not a second anybody flinched.”
He was rolling now. As he wrapped up his answer, Taylor hit one of his hands against the table 17 more times.
“Everyone will learn from this and know the Bengals are never out of it,” Taylor said.
The defining line of the 2024 Cincinnati Bengals’ season came after the loss in Baltimore in November. Ja’Marr Chase said that “never in a million years” would he expect that with himself, Joe Burrow and Trey Hendrickson playing as well as they were that the Bengals still wouldn’t be on track to make the playoffs. Last year’s Bengals had problems that a triple crown winner, an MVP candidate and a defensive player of the year finalist couldn’t overcome on their own.
On Sunday, in this year’s season opener at Paycor Stadium against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Burrow left the game in the second quarter with a toe injury. Taylor said postgame that he didn’t have much information, and Burrow’s injury now becomes the story of the season.
But Taylor didn’t have the dejection of a coach who just saw his quarterback go down. Burrow drives the ship at Paycor Stadium, but not even Burrow, Chase and Hendrickson could fix all of the problems that plagued the Bengals last season. They needed help. More importantly, the Bengals needed to stop the trend where they collapsed whenever things went wrong.
That’s what had Taylor so excited on Sunday. The game went terribly as Burrow got hurt, Jake Browning threw three picks and the defense allowed 400 yards.
They still won.
After the game, Taylor wanted to make something that he believes about the 2025 Bengals clear: This year’s Bengals can take a punch.
“That was a crazy win,” Orlando Brown Jr. said. “It was hard fought. It speaks to the character of who we are and how far we’ve come.”
The 2024 Bengals get blown out in this game. It would have unraveled with an experience like 4th and 16 vs. Kansas City, the second half pass defense vs. Washington, the dropped snap and the overtime run vs. the Ravens, the turnover palooza against the Eagles, the third quarter collapse in Baltimore or the defensive debacle at home vs. Pittsburgh.
The Bengals spent the offseason working to recreate the culture that the team had in 2021 and 2022, and moves like a defensive coordinator change and massive roster turnover with established veterans were designed to try to give this team’s young core a fresh start.
On Sunday, there were Dax Hill — formerly the guy who changed positions twice — and Jordan Battle — formerly the guy who kept getting replaced by Vonn Bell — making game changing splash plays. There was Hendrickson taking his game up another gear in clutch situations, which he didn’t do enough of in 2024. There was the offensive line that was responsible for xx sacks of Burrow figuring things out as the game went on and giving Browning the clean pockets that the unit wasn’t able to provide for Burrow.
Even with Burrow healthy, the 2025 Bengals don’t have a chance this year if the team crumbles when things get tough like it did last year. Taylor believes that Sunday showed him that this team has that quality, which should carry over to whenever Burrow returns.
“They looked each other in the eyes in the second half and said we’re going to figure out a way to win this game,” Taylor said.
The next time things go wrong, the Bengals have a positive experience that they all can point to, which should give them some confidence that they previously lacked.
Now, back to reality. Burrow is hurt. He got hurt because the offensive line isn’t good enough. The Bengals face two of the best defenses in the NFL in their next two games (Vikings, Broncos), and then they face the Lions and the Packers. It’s a very difficult schedule coming up. Burrow’s injury, at the very least, is something that will really hurt the Bengals’ ability to enter the playoffs with a great seed. At worst, the team sputters and has much more of an uphill climb when Burrow returns.
The defense made some big plays on Sunday, and Hendrickson looks better than ever. But the cornerbacks struggled really badly against the Jaguars, and the Bengals never figured out an answer for their play action passes, jet sweeps and screens. The Bengals’ defense is playing faster and with more confidence, but it hasn’t been fixed yet. Not even close.
The good news for the Bengals is that in 2023 and again on Sunday, it was clear that this offense still has a decent chance when Browning is staying efficient.
The Bengals have the best skill position group in the NFL — you can make the case for the Eagles, but it’s close — and they all had their moments on Sunday. Chase had 14 catches for 165 yards. “There are a lot of times where the words that come out of our mouths is’ how do we get the ball to Ja’Marr?’,” Taylor said.
Browning shredded a blitz by throwing a 42-yard deep ball to Higgins for a touchdown. Andrei Iosivas arguably had a game-saving play by forcing a DPI against Travis Hunter on a go ball on fourth down on the Bengals’ final possession. Mike Gesicki had two clutch catches on that drive. Mitchell Tinsley reeled in a one-handed touchdown in the third quarter that gave the Bengals some much-needed energy.
“If you’re wearing a Bengals uniform on Sunday, and you’re one-on-one, I’m throwing it,” Browning said.
It helps to have Browning, one of the 32-or-so best quarterbacks in the NFL. He has shown in a Bengals uniform that he can make big plays. Chase, Higgins, Chase Brown, Taylor and everyone else has seen it. There’s proof of concept that he can keep the Bengals afloat.
“We have trust he’s going to figure out a way,” Taylor said. “He’s just ready. We’ve got a guy who’s ready that the team trusts because we’ve seen him do it all. We put the ball in his hands at the end of the game.”
Taylor backed up those words with actions with the way that he called plays down the stretch. There were aggressive passes where Browning put the ball in harm’s way and trusted his playmakers to make a play. Browning will get some more of those chances if Burrow misses time.
Burrow’s injury will be at the center of every conversation about the Bengals until he’s back on the field and fully ready to go But on Sunday, Taylor wanted to put the focus on something that last year’s Bengals didn’t have, even when Burrow was healthy.
“Great teams have to find a way,” Taylor said. “So many thoughts are coming to me of guys who I saw rise up and make the most of an opportunity. That’s the sign of a team that can potentially be a great team. We’re not there yet. We’re finding ways to win. We’re a good team, and we’re going to build to being a great team.”
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