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Following Sunday’s 20-9 loss to Washington, the Bengals’ record under Zac Taylor dropped to 4-21-1, including no road wins over a two-year span.
It looked like the Bengals had a great chance for that illusive road victory in Washington, as they raced out to a 9-7 lead at halftime.
But then disaster struck, as Joe Burrow suffered a serious knee injury early in the third quarter. It’s reportedly a torn ACL but could have more damage that an MRI will reveal this coming week.
After Burrow exited the game, it was painfully evident that it left the Bengals more deflated than Taylor’s coaching tenure (or a Patriots game ball).
Following the game, Taylor was asked if he sensed a change in his team’s energy following Burrow’s injury.
His answer?
“No.”
Um...come again?
The Bengals were up 9-7 when Burrow went down early in the third quarter, then quickly found themselves trailing 20-9 with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter.
I checked out of ZT’s post game interview when he said he didn’t see a difference in his team’s demeanor after Joe Burrow was carted off.
— Elise Jesse (@EliseJesseTV) November 22, 2020
That answer is completely disconnected from what I saw on the sidelines ♀️
A blind man could have seen the Bengals being completely lifeless after watching their leader go down with a major season-ending injury.
On the three ensuing possessions for Washington following the injury, they drove 55 yards for the go-ahead touchdown, 49 more yards for a field goal, and then 65 yards for another field goal that effectively put the game on ice. That’s 169 yards in three drives after the Bengals defense had held Washington to just 156 yards for the first 33 minutes.
As for the Bengals offense, they would gain just 17 yards on their final 18 plays, including three drives that didn’t gain a single yard and one that ended with an interception.
So yeah, it was pretty obvious just about every Bengal on the field was dejected after watching Burrow go down, so for Taylor to suggest otherwise is concerning in the sense that he either is completely out of touch with his team, or he doesn’t care to grossly lie to reporters when everyone can see he’s telling the opposite of reality.
Oh, and Taylor went out of his way to defend his offensive line, which is uncoincidentally coached by his good buddy Jim Turner.