Bengals News (1/19): Joe Burrow won’t be labeled an underdog

Bengals' Quick Hits: Another Road Weekend For AFC Tracker Taylors; Burrow, Bengals Focused On Damar's Bills
The heroine these days in the Norman, Okla., Taylor home is Julie, the mother of Zac and Press, not to mention mother of the bride, wife of Sherwood and Pro Bowl travel agent. "She could have made a career out of booking flights," Sherwood Taylor says Wednesday morning. "She's running the show around here."

Bengals' Zac Taylor On Historic Postseason Success, The Taylor Family Doomsday Scenario And Building A 'Forever' Tradition
I think for our own team, our players certainly believe that we're capable of doing anything, but it does confirm, when you're able to win back-to-back division titles, back-to-back years in playoff wins, it's important. It confirms things that you worked for so the players can see those results. Just proud of the way they've approached everything and believed in each other and believed in what we're asking them to do. We'll have these seasons that are really special.

Joe Burrow Wears Wrong Jersey To Bengals Presser, Whoops!
"I guess I put the wrong one on," Burrow laughed. "So what happened was, I forgot about the press conference ... so I put my jersey back on. But apparently, it wasn't my jersey."

Joe Burrow on Cincinnati Bengals' Matchup With Buffalo Bills: 'I Never Feel Like An Underdog'
"I always enjoy going on the road. It’s just you and your guys," Burrow said. "Feels like it’s you against the world and that’s where we like to be."

Ben Roethlisberger has big praise for Bengals QB Joe Burrow
“To sit there and actually watch Joe, Joe is one of the elites in the league. Like he is good. His pocket presence. He can run enough. He’s a sneaky good runner. Great decision-making, great throws…I’m telling you what, I don’t think it’s too long until he is in MVP talks, I really believe that. So I can’t say enough about Joe and it hurts me to say that about a division opponent, but I’m not in the division anymore.”

Around the league

Biggest vulnerability for eight remaining NFL playoff teams; plus, updated Super Bowl LVII probabilities
I just finished my first round of 1,000,000 simulations for each of this weekend's four Divisional Round games, which helps show the most probable outcome in terms of which teams will win as well as help outline what it would take for upsets to occur.

Vikings HC Kevin O'Connell non-committal on DC Ed Donatell's status
"I'm in the process of going through, as we did with our players on Monday," O'Connell told reporters on Wednesday. "I don't know the total number between practice squad, IR and our roster guys, but [general manager] Kewsi (Adofo-Mensah) and I had a chance to sit down and speak face-to-face with everyone. Get their feelings on both the individual and collective thoughts on where we're at right now and then over the past couple days, and it's ongoing. You know, I'm doing the same thing with my entire coaching staff. I'm in evaluation mode of everything that we did."

Rams DL Aaron Donald tweets he's playing following Twitter mix-up regarding his status
In the aftermath of a dreadful 5-12 season in which head coach Sean McVay contemplated stepping away, the potential of a Donald exit from the field didn't seem unfathomable. After all, Donald contemplated retirement following a Super Bowl triumph in the 2021 season and missed the last six games of the 2022 campaign with a high ankle sprain.

Weighing fifth-year options for 2020 NFL Draft's first-round selections
All drafted rookies are given four-year contracts to begin their careers -- and teams have the option to extend that contract for a fifth year with players selected in the first round. The fifth-year option window for the Class of 2020 opened Jan. 9, with the final deadline set for May 1. So, which players deserve to stick with their team through the 2024 campaign?

2023 NFL offseason quarterback market preview: Which teams are in need? Who could be available?
Running a multi-billion-dollar hedge fund? That’s easy if you’re David Tepper. Finding a franchise quarterback? Not so much. The Panthers owner failed in his quests to land Matthew Stafford and Deshaun Watson, leaving Carolina to wheel out Sam Darnold, Cam Newton, P.J. Walker and Baker Mayfield to rough-and-tumble results over the last two seasons. In a parallel reality, the Panthers drafted Justin Fields and don’t exist in this column, but team brass felt cover man Jaycee Horn would make a bigger impact. Chasing after Sean Payton tells you Tepper's desire to turn the club around, but does the offensive guru really want to dive into this quarterbacking black hole? Not to mention, handing away a flock of picks to the Saints for their former coach would only set the Panthers farther away from wrangling a legitimate starter at the position. Why not hold onto interim coach Steve Wilks and trade up in the draft for a would-be face of the franchise?