Tyler Boyd calls these Bengals “the best team” he’s ever been on

Tyler Boyd’s 27th birthday was exactly a week ago. He’s in the midst of his sixth NFL season following a collegiate career that lasted just three years. In the eight full years he’s played football since high school, only twice has his team finished with a winning record. Both years were at Pitt.

Now a captain of the Cincinnati Bengals’ offense, Boyd has seen some rough years with this team despite his own personal success. He arrived a year after the club went 12-4 and won the AFC North and witnessed the downturn of the franchise that eventually led to a full rebuild. Boyd became a foundational piece of the team’s new identity, and he’s seeing everything take shape this year.

Following their win over the Las Vegas Raiders, Boyd declared this Bengals team as the best he’s ever played for.

The Bengals’ 6-4 record entering Week 12 is the best Boyd has been a part of in his six years. The 2018 Bengals were 5-5 through 11 weeks, but that team only won one more game despite a career-year from Boyd.

Expectations have been raised much higher for this squad. The Bengals are firmly in the playoff race following their 32-13 victory over Las Vegas and have five home games in six weeks coming up.

Boyd ended up as Cincinnati’s leading receiver in this game with 49 yards on six receptions—three of which resulted in first downs, four if count penalties. He also surpassed Tee Higgins as the team’s second-leading receiver on the year with 458 yards through 10 games.

The Pittsburgh native-turned Cincinnati star is in the prime of his career, so it’s nice to see him experience winning for the first time in a while. More days like Sunday will take this team to the playoffs, where they can truly prove they’re the best team in Boyd’s football career.