Starting slow isn’t a trend. It’s a major highlight in the Zac Taylor coaching handbook.
The Cincinnati Bengals kicked off their season on Sunday, but anyone familiar with recent history might have been able to foresee the loss without even watching the game. The Bengals lost to the New England Patriots by a score of 16-10 in an ugly performance plagued by mistakes and miscues on both sides of the ball.
While the saying, “It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish,” is absolutely true, getting off to a slow start could force the Bengals into a tough spot later in the season. They had an opportunity on Sunday to come out and beat a less-talented Patriots team and get their 2024 campaign off and running.
Instead, they fumbled away, literally and figuratively, their chances to head into Week 2 with a winning record despite several opportunities to take control of the game.
The Bengals have had more postseason success under Taylor, having gone to two AFC Championship games and one Super Bowl, but to get there, they’ve had to go through tough stretches at the end of the season and squeak out some must-win games. They haven’t had the luxury of being able to play a little more relaxed at the end of the year. Teams can’t be relaxed when they’re in must-win situation.
Now they’re going to head to Kansas City to face the Chiefs, who beat the Ravens in an exciting season-opening Thursday Night Football game. The Bengals see the Chiefs as a roadblock to a potential Super Bowl bid, so this is a huge game. It would have been nice to see the Bengals go into Week 2 with their best foot forward, but that’s not going to be the case. Instead, they’ll have to pick up the pieces from an embarrassing Week 1 loss while simultaneously game-planning for the best team in the AFC.
Now that the Bengals are officially 0-1 to start the 2024 season, Zac Taylor is 1-10 in the first two weeks of any season. Taylor’s only win in the first two weeks of the season was Week 1 of the 2021 season when the Bengals beat the Vikings 27-24 in overtime. They went on to the Super Bowl, losing to the Rams by a field goal, to end the season.
Before Taylor, Bengals fans will remember the team’s struggles to win Wild Card playoff games. While I’d rather have a coach who can win in the postseason than a coach who can’t win in the first couple of weeks of the season, having both would be nice.
