CINCINNATI (WKRC) – Bengals head coach Zac Taylor saw plenty to like after reviewing the film from Cincinnati’s Week 1 victory, particularly from an offensive line that kept quarterback Joe Burrow clean and a defense that showed encouraging signs in its season debut.<\/p>\n
The Bengals built a 21-3 lead before holding on for the win, giving Taylor the fast start his team had been seeking after recent struggles in season openers.<\/p>\n
“I was proud of the effort, proud of the enthusiasm the guys played with, the confidence they played with,” Taylor said.<\/p>\n
Taylor cautioned that Cincinnati remains a work in progress.<\/p>\n
“The objective isn’t to be your best team Week 1,” Taylor said. “It’s to be your best team at the end of the season.”<\/p>\n
Offensive line delivers<\/p>\n
Taylor was particularly pleased with the offensive line against a defense that presented Cincinnati with numerous pressure looks.<\/p>\n
“They kept him clean,” Taylor said of Burrow. “I was really impressed with the job that they did, number one, in protection, keeping Joe clean.”<\/p>\n
The protection gave Burrow time to extend plays or remain in the pocket and wait for receivers to get open.<\/p>\n
Taylor also saw positives in the running game, including several large holes for running back Chase Brown and some physical runs late in the game.<\/p>\n
No concern about Burrow’s pick-6<\/p>\n
One obvious blemish was Burrow’s interception returned for a touchdown.<\/p>\n
Taylor said Burrow should have moved to his next progression on the play but dismissed any concern about the quarterback’s recent pick-6s.<\/p>\n
“I’m not concerned about Joe,” Taylor said. “He’s unbelievable with his decision-making.”<\/p>\n
“Of course, we don’t want that to happen, but I trust him fully.”<\/p>\n
Receiver Dohnte Meyers capitalizes on opportunities<\/p>\n
Taylor praised Meyers’ ability to make plays in space when opportunities came his way.<\/p>\n
He pointed to two plays in particular, including a jet sweep and a reception that helped start Cincinnati’s closing drive.<\/p>\n
Taylor liked the ball security and situational awareness, including staying inbounds.<\/p>\n
“The plays that came his way, he made them (Sunday),” Taylor said.<\/p>\n
Taylor also expressed confidence in Meyers as a returner, saying his speed and quickness give him the potential to produce explosive plays.<\/p>\n
Burrow-to-Higgins connection even better on film<\/p>\n
One of Burrow’s throws to receiver Tee Higgins impressed Taylor even more after he watched it again. It came in the final drive for a first down to essentially seal the victory.<\/p>\n
Taylor said the coverage disrupted the normal timing of the play, with a defender getting his hands on Higgins and a safety moving back toward the middle.<\/p>\n
Burrow nevertheless trusted Higgins and placed the ball where his 6-foot-5 receiver could make the play.<\/p>\n
“How Tee came down with the ball, I’m still not clear on it,” Taylor said. “But he’s done that routinely for us.”<\/p>\n
Young linebackers play fast<\/p>\n
Taylor also liked what he saw from linebackers Barrett Carter and Demetrius Knight Jr., particularly their ability to quickly diagnose plays.<\/p>\n
“There’s no hesitation,” Taylor said.<\/p>\n
He praised Barrett’s command of the defense while wearing the communication headset and said both players benefited from trusting the talent around them rather than trying to do too much.<\/p>\n
Defense rallies to the football<\/p>\n
Taylor described the tackling as solid for an opening game, although he saw room for improvement.<\/p>\n
What stood out was the number of Bengals defenders pursuing the football.<\/p>\n
“You saw a lot of jerseys around the ball,” Taylor said, noting that three or four defenders frequently converged on the ball carrier.<\/p>\n
One problem Taylor won’t accept<\/p>\n
Cincinnati was called for four neutral-zone infractions, something Taylor made clear must be corrected before the Bengals’ next game.<\/p>\n
“We can’t have it,” Taylor said.<\/p>\n
The penalties involved multiple players and wiped out some otherwise successful defensive plays.<\/p>\n
“We’re not going to accept that,” Taylor said. “I know our guys are professional enough to understand that.”<\/p>\n
Cincinnati now turns its attention to Houston for Week 2.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CINCINNATI (WKRC) – Bengals head coach Zac Taylor saw plenty to like after reviewing the film from Cincinnati’s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1000957,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2053],"tags":[228,227,256,2296,7,6],"class_list":["post-1000956","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cincinnati-bengals","tag-bengals","tag-cincinnati","tag-cincinnati-bengals","tag-cincinnatibengals","tag-football","tag-nfl"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/117271871119837700","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1000956","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1000956"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1000956\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1000957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1000956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1000956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1000956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}