Back-to-back wins have the Bengals in the playoff hunt again, and Taylor can perhaps feel vindicated by his optimism that seemed manufactured at the time. However, he’s quick to point out, there is still a lot of work to do. Cincinnati (7-6) hosts Minnesota (7-6) on Saturday with much on the line for both teams.
“I think Joe Burrow is one of the greatest players to walk this Earth, but we do still have other great players that can step up and help us win football games,” Taylor said of his optimism. “And so, that’s what we needed from this team. … They’ve just continued to play good football like they’ve always done, and I just think of all the elite players we’ve got and they just continue to rally around each other and make plays and find ways to win games . We’ve got to do it again this week.”
The Bengals were sitting at 7-6 in 2021 when they began their run to the Super Bowl, rattling off three straight wins to clinch the AFC North title before a loss in the regular-season finale at Cleveland when the starters rested. That was followed by three straight playoff thrillers, including an overtime victory in the AFC Championship at Kansas City, before a narrow loss to the L.A. Rams in Super Bowl LVI.
Last year, Cincinnati won 10 straight before falling in the AFC Championship.
Taylor said he has to be careful about drawing from past runs as motivation, but the team’s late-season success the past two years is a good reminder of what is possible.
“You are always careful to say just because that team did that, this team is going to do this,” Taylor said. “Every team’s got to grow together in its own way, but I do think there are certainly things you can pull from. We’ve been in similar positions, a lot of guys on this team and they understand not to look ahead. Let’s not look ahead to two, three, four weeks from now. We have to focus on this one because if we don’t focus on this one, those games may not matter.”
The Bengals still have an extremely slim chance of winning the AFC North, but regardless, a wild card is very much in play with six teams sitting at 7-6 in the AFC.
Cincinnati currently is on the bubble in the No. 10 spot, based on tiebreakers, but that just gives the team a chance to channel the “they’ve got to play us” vibes from 2021 when the Bengals embraced their underdog role all the way to the Super Bowl.
“I think they like the grind of the season,” Taylor said when asked if this team likes proving others wrong. “That’s what matters in this league. I’ve been around a lot of teams in my life, and sometimes you could feel it fizzle out as the season went on, ‘hey, let’s get to vacation, let’s do this and that.’ This team I’ve never felt that once in these last couple years with these guys. They just want to keep playing football. They like the time in the locker room, being around each other, and that matters when you get to Dec. 12.”
A win Sunday would mark three in a row during a time where momentum can be everything. After hosting the Vikings, the Bengals travel to Pittsburgh and Kansas City before closing the season at home against the Browns.
Taylor said “the biggest thing is the team doesn’t feel pressure.”
”When you prepare, there is confidence that comes with that,” Taylor said. “... We’ve geared our practices to get us to this point in December to be healthy, to hit our peak at the most critical moment. I think that’s how our team feels right now. We don’t need to do anything extra. We don’t need to feel any pressure.”
SATURDAY’S GAME
Vikings at Bengals, 1 p.m., NFL Network, 700, 1530, 102.7, 104.7
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