Taylor-Britt was glad to hear that after a deflating performance in which he had two missed tackles, leading to big plays for Courtland Sutton and setting up a long touchdown run in the second quarter. He’s got a chance at redemption Sunday, against a Lions team averaging 34.3 points and 365.0 yards per game.
“He needs juice on the field, that’s what he told me,” Taylor-Britt said Thursday. “He wants me out there, and they can’t put me out there if I’m not performing.”
Golden was quick to defend Taylor-Britt on Wednesday when asked about him being benched, noting that minimal reps in practice last week while coming back from a hamstring injury did play a factor in his performance.
Bengals coach Zac Taylor said the limited snaps were performance-based, though, and Taylor-Britt acknowledged he didn’t play well enough to expect more playing time.
Taylor-Britt didn’t play at all in the first quarter, came in for that scoring drive and was benched after his second missed tackle. Josh Newton ended up playing 64 of 81 defensive snaps (79 percent).
“I mean, he dealt with a hamstring injury early last week, but I thought he came through everything OK,” Taylor said Wednesday. “We’ve got some corners we can rely on, so we’re not afraid to rotate those guys through.
“We’re just always trying to find the guys that are performing the best in the moment, and I felt like we had some good options there.”
Taylor-Britt was benched three times last season before injuries forced him back into the lineup and he finished on a better note. However, he’s struggled still with consistency and then suffered a hamstring injury in practice the week before the Sept. 21 game at Minnesota, sidelining him for that one. He was back in limited fashion the first two practices last week and a full participant by Friday.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Taylor-Britt said he is back to 100 percent now and was physically fine during the game Monday.
Asked about the idea Taylor-Britt was benched because of performance, Golden said he didn’t think that would be a fair assessment of the situation.
“He was coming off a hamstring, and then had an illness on Thursday prior to practice, so he didn’t rep like a normal game week for us, but we need to rep, you know?” Golden said. “Starting today, we need him to go. We’re counting on him. And then obviously, he had some plays that he didn’t love in the game. We need him to have a full week, be clean, be healthy, and then have a productive week.”
Taylor-Britt said he felt like the limited practice time did impact his performance but “no excuses” because “you gotta go make plays when you get put out there.”
“It was just bad,” Taylor-Britt said. “Bad football. I sat out the whole f----ing first quarter and had to go out there and lock up. But like I said, no excuses. We all gotta go out there and win and be productive.”
That is especially the case this week. Cincinnati made Bo Nix and the Broncos look like world-beaters, but the Lions are the best offense in the league right now.
Detroit quarterback Jared Goff has completed 73.8 percent of his passes for 929 yards and nine touchdowns with two interceptions. Amon-Ra St. Brown has been his top target with 27 catches for 307 yards and six touchdowns, while Jameson Williams adds 214 yards and one touchdown on 10 catches and tight end Sam LaPorta has 16 catches for 177 yards.
“We gotta keep them from having a great day,” Taylor-Britt said.
It might be now or never time for Taylor-Britt.
The fourth-year cornerback and 2022 second-round draft pick was much better in Week 2 when he was targeted three times and allowed no catches and also recorded three tackles, but over the course of three games played, he has given up eight receptions on 12 targets, including one touchdown, for 117 yards.
Cincinnati was counting on him having a bounce-back season, and that’s still possible. It starts with a better performance Sunday.
“He knows he needs to be better, and again, I wouldn’t share anything with you that I haven’t shared with him,” Golden said. “I think the biggest thing is I have to be better. He has to be better. I have to put him in a better position. But obviously, we need to improve. And he’s a big part of that. Cam’s a very talented player. We need this to be a turning point. We need him to have a great week.”
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