CINCINNATI — Sometimes, the best learning comes when looking in the mirror. And if the Bengals are going to be the team they think they can be, then the answers for reaching those lofty goals start on the inside.
That’s what the Bengals coaching staff did over their bye week. They took a good, hard look at what worked in the first six weeks of the season and what didn’t.
After spending a week focused on themselves, they return to getting ready for an opponent.
But what did the 3-3 Bengals learn exactly from a week of self-scouting and film review?
“Just different areas that we can improve, tweak, continue to do better. That’s what we took away from the week,” head coach Zac Taylor said, before expanding on his perspective after watching the Ravens, Browns and Steelers all win on Sunday.
“Everybody in the AFC is on our schedule at this point,” Taylor added. “We just have to focus on San Francisco. I think that’s the message you give to our guys. If we control what we can control, starting with San Fran, then taking it one game at a time after that, everything you want is in front of you. So you don’t need to worry about what everybody else is doing.”
Cliche? Perhaps, but Taylor isn’t worried about cliches. He’s more concerned about keeping his team on point and getting them ready to take on a team with one of the most dynamic offenses and one of the best pass rushes with Nick Bosa and linebacker Fred Warner.
“I think that’s the simplest message that is true, especially at this earliest part of the season,” Taylor continued. “We’ve only played six games. Still have 11 left. You gotta start with San Francisco. Can’t look beyond that. Gotta give them our best effort and then after that, we’ll keep taking it one game at a time. But that’s the beauty of this league. You’ve got a chance to control your own destiny as long as you do things the right way.”
The Bengals watched Sunday as the entire division won while they rested. But the message from Taylor and the locker room Monday was to keep looking in the mirror and not down the proverbial hallway.
“Keep winning. We just got focus on ourselves,” Bengals nickel corner Mike Hilton said. “We got take one game at a time. We know where we are right now, but we can only control what happens and we get like I said we got just go out there and winning week by week. San Francisco, everybody knows, is one of the better teams in the NFL.”
Mike Hilton knows what to expect with 49ers Sunday. A big challenge from a "Super Bowl contender." pic.twitter.com/2hQBWhM807
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) October 23, 2023
In 2021, the Bengals came out of the bye and beat the Las Vegas Raiders to improve to 6-4. They beat the Steelers the next week as part of their 5-2 run that won the AFC North. Last year, the Bengals were 5-4 and came out and beat the Steelers as part of a 10-game win streak that carried them to another AFC North title.
Taylor doesn’t have to worry about the motivation of his key players. Players like Joe Burrow, Sam Hubbard, Hilton, DJ Reader. They’re all captains and self-starters. They hold the rest of the team accountable.
“I think it’s the character of our team,” Taylor said. “They get a week off, they handle it the right way, they do the right things, they take care of their bodies, they mentally refresh knowing that we’ve got a gauntlet here of 11 games going down the stretch,” Taylor said. “So, those guys come out of it fresh, ready to roll, thankful that they’re in it and they get to keep playing good football. So I think it speaks more to the character of our team, how they’ve responded coming out of byes than anything that maybe we have been doing.”
"That's the beauty of this league. You've got a chance to control your own destiny as long as you do things the right way." Zac Taylor on Bengals coming out of the bye. pic.twitter.com/kzg9vNg68u
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) October 23, 2023
Even with accountability comes the need to remind players of the urgency of execution. That’s precisely what offensive coordinator Brian Callahan did in a stern message to the offense before the team left for the bye week. The offense has sputtered all season and the intensity of Callahan’s message was well-received by Orlando Brown Jr.
“That’s just like shooting you straight. Most places (in the NFL), it’s like that all the time. Not to discredit anything here because obviously they’ve had success, but at times, the urgency of people being called out, the realness all of it, those things are needed. Although we’re pros at the end of the day it’s not going to do anything but make us more accountable and force guys in the group to be more accountable and, I’m honestly all for it.”
Orlando Brown Jr says he expects to be ready this Sunday vs. SF. pic.twitter.com/0KFg7tmhDa
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) October 23, 2023
Brown expects to be ready for Sunday:
The Bengals starting left tackle showed up toward the end of practice Monday. He indicated that he is feeling much better after tweaking his groin against Seattle on Oct. 15, a re-aggravation of an injury initially suffered on Oct. 1 against Tennessee. Zac Taylor was asked how important it would be to have Brown in the game against Nick Bosa on Sunday. “I like having our best players play, so that’s always helpful,” Taylor said.
