With Sunday’s loss to the Chargers, the Bengals have fallen to 4-7 on the year, and six of the losses have been by one possession.
That’s sticking in the craw of Cincinnati head coach Zac Taylor, who said in his postgame press conference that he can’t explain the way some of these losses have gone.
“I wish I could. It’s a team we believe in, a team that believes in each other,” Taylor said. “It’s sick the way these games are ending and the way we feel coming off the field every week — the feeling I’ve got when I’ve got to talk to the team in the locker room after these endings this year.
“What I just keep telling the team is, at some point, this has got to help us. At some point, we’ve got to find some momentum, and we’ve got to get on a run, and we’ve got to find ourselves in a position where we’re going to reflect back … We’ve just got to find a way to finish. I keep saying that and, obviously, we’re a play away every time I say it. But I’ve still got the confidence that we can get this thing done.”
Taylor added that he doesn’t think the club needs to make wholesale changes because “we can see it just coming down to one play in every single game.”
“We believe in what we’re doing,” Taylor said. “And so, again, we’re not going to be those people who just panic because the record’s 4-7 and we start making all these significant changes. That’s not what the answer is. We’ve played good football. We’re a good football team. We believe in our guys. We’ve got good systems in place. And, again, we’re going to hang in there, and support each other, and find a way to get this thing done. And if we get it done, it’s going to be a dang good season.
“Again, it’s not — so far — what we would’ve written for ourselves, but I’m telling you, I stand here today with the utmost belief that we can still get this done on the back half of our schedule.”
But at 4-7 and with a bevy of competitive teams in the AFC, do the Bengals have a realistic shot at the postseason?
“Yeah, I’m not just saying it to convince others,” Taylor said. “I mean, I say what I believe right now. When you watch this team compete, the guys we’ve got, the coaches we’ve got — I love going to work every single day. It’s not something you dread at 4-7 and you don’t want to be around these people. It’s the opposite of that because I can see that something special can still be there. And, again, people may not believe it — and that’s OK. I get that.
“But, I’ve seen this group do some really good things before, and I still believe we can get this thing turned around and do that.”
The Bengals will have a bye in Week 12 before facing the Steelers at home in Week 13.
