A win in Sunday’s regular season finale won’t send the Bengals to the playoffs and it won’t play spoiler to the playoff-bound Browns, but that’s not impacting Cincinnati’s preparation for the game.
That’s been the word from head coach Zac Taylor since the Bengals were officially eliminated from playoff contention with a loss to the Chiefs last weekend. The Bengals have not gone winless in the division in more than 20 years and they have a chance to finish the year with a winning record, which are a couple of reasons why Taylor believes his players will be “doing everything we can to win this game and end the season on a high note.”
“Our No. 1 objective is to win this game by any means necessary. However that looks is however it looks,” Taylor said, via the team’s website. “The fans that have continued to support us and cheer for this team and put their heart and soul into supporting us, get a chance to watch us play hard in a home game and find a way to win.”
The desire to play hard to the end is shared by the players. Defensive end Sam Hubbard said he needs an undisclosed surgery after the season and “didn’t think twice about” continuing to play this week despite the lack of playoff stakes for the Bengals.