The Cincinnati Bengals kicked off the 2024 NFL season as home favorites against the New England Patriots.
They wound up losing that game.
Notably, that may have cost them a trip to the playoffs.
The Bengals have annually gotten off to a slow start under head coach Zac Taylor, and he reportedly is looking to make changes to their offseason program, according to The Athletic.
“It’s just on us as a whole to finish games off earlier in the season, and it’s on me as head coach to make sure we come out of the offseason, we come out of training camp and we’re ready to hit the ground running from Game 1,” Taylor said, via JPAFootball.
: #Bengals HC Zac Taylor is reportedly considering making changes to the team’s offseason program to try fixing their slow starts to the season, he told @TheAthleticNFL
Zac Taylor is an abysmal 1-11 in the team’s first two weeks of the regular season since taking… pic.twitter.com/ZeIGbHt1yu
— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball) January 10, 2025
Under Taylor, the Bengals have gone 1-11 in the first two weeks of the regular season.
This season, they lost four of their first five games.
The Bengals have been able to rally and finish seasons strong, but it’s hard to make the playoffs when you’re constantly playing catch-up.
In 2024, Taylor’s team wasted two of the greatest individual seasons of all time.
Quarterback Joe Burrow had an epic campaign and posted MVP-caliber numbers, and Ja’Marr Chase won the wide receiver triple crown by leading the league in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.
If that wasn’t enough, Trey Hendrickson also led the league in sacks.
While Taylor deserves some credit for his team’s late-season turnarounds, another slow start in 2025 could — and maybe even should — cost him his job.
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