After a poor season, Zac Taylor reaffirmed the Cincinnati Bengals’ annual goals minutes later.
After Cincinnati’s 31-14 demolition of the playoff-bound Cleveland Browns’ backups in the regular-season finale at chilly and gloomy Paycor Stadium, the coach declared, “Win the division and win the Super Bowl.”
It is noteworthy that Taylor stated, “win the Super Bowl.” He made no mention of “get there” or “get close.” It’s probably crucial that the front desk remembers what Taylor said.
Bengals’ evaluationAnalysis: The Bengals’ top five queries going into the summer are listed below.
Browns BengalsThe Bengals defeat the Cleveland Browns handily to end the season.
The Bengals’ management just cannot attribute this season’s results to Joe Burrow’s mid-November injury. With Burrow, they might have still qualified for the postseason, but they were very likely not going to take home the championship. Even with a completely healthy franchise quarterback, they weren’t designed to win the Lombardi Trophy.
Burrow’s injury revealed every weakness on the Bengals. Ownership and the player personnel staff should take this as a wake-up call to improve upon their performance from the previous summer. Improve your assessment of possible draft selections and free agents. Get better at bringing people back and letting them go.
To begin repairing the roster, the Bengals cannot continue to operate under the assumption that Burrow’s return would solve the majority of their issues.
Undoubtedly, Burrow fixes a lot. But will his health hold up? The Bengals should play as though he might not, given that two of his four NFL seasons were ended by serious injuries. Due to various health problems, Burrow has also missed the most of training camp throughout the last two seasons.
Next, give the trenches some TLC.
Both the defensive and offensive lines, especially their interiors, are just inadequate. Both running the ball and stopping the run were beyond the Bengals’ capabilities. Part of it can be attributed to the Bengals’ continuous difficulties with both position groupings in recent drafts.
And it’s very likely that the Bengals will lose defensive lineman DJ Reader and offensive tackle Jonah Williams, two of their most effective trench players from the 2023 campaign, to free agency. Veteran players’ injuries contributed to the defensive line’s issue as well. Due to a torn quad, the reader has missed the last three games. Sam Hubbard, a defensive end who recently concluded his sixth season, is somewhat worn out.
