After a thrilling 2-0 start, the Cincinnati Bengals have dropped back-to-back games against the Steelers and Jaguars and are now 2-2 going into Week 5.
The Bengals also lost Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins during the loss to Jacksonville and will be working through those injuries going into the next game.
After two straight losses, head coach Zac Taylor is facing heat again, and Sports Illustrated has him back on the hot seat.
Connor Orr now has Taylor ranked No. 5 in his latest NFL hot seat rankings.
Taylor is still riding off the fumes of a surprise Super Bowl berth in 2021, which was followed by a conference title game appearance in 2022. Since that season, the Bengals have yet to make the playoffs. Last year, we ran up against a bizarre situation in which it was revealed that the Bengals quietly extended Taylor, though the team and the coach declined to address it.
This is fair criticism considering the Bengals have no business being 2-2 with this roster, and the in-game management, game planning, and offensive playcalling are still frustrating to watch.
Yes, the season is still incredibly early, but similar issues from the past few seasons are coming to the surface again, and winning is the biggest cure when that happens.
One of the biggest issues right now is that Taylor’s offense is still incapable of establishing the run with a healthy Joe Burrow, and that created so many problems for this unit against Jacksonville.
Burrow reassured everyone in his press conference that no one is panicking and the season is still incredibly early, but with these injuries stacking up and issues coming back around, it is fair for everyone to have concerns.
