By John Rigolizzo
Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor has not started a season 2-0 in his entire career as head coach. But the Bengals have a chance to do it for the first time in their home opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars. At a press conference Wednesday, Taylor said he is not concerned with the national narratives, but the fast start could help them make a splash in the AFC North.
A reporter asked Taylor if he was aware that he had never won a game in Week 2 in his head coaching career.
“Zero awareness,” he said.
The reporter then asked him what it would mean to win Sunday’s game.
“I just want to be 2–0,” he replied. “I know I haven’t been 2–0 since I’ve been here. That I can tell you … that part doesn’t matter. … What concerns us is starting now at 1–0 at home, and then that puts our best foot forward to do all the things we want to do in our division and so on. So we just keep it a lot simpler than the things that are probably more fun to talk about, but in our rooms it’s as simple as that.”
Slow starts have dogged the Bengals for years. Last season, Cincinnati started the season 0–3 with losses to the New England Patriots, Kansas City Chiefs, and Washington Commanders. In 2023, the Bengals went 0–2 to start the season and 1–3 through four weeks. They went 0–2 again in 2022. In 2021, the Bengals went 1–1 in the first two weeks. In 2020, the Bengals went 0–2 again, then tied the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 3. In Taylor’s first year as head coach in 2019, the Bengals did not win a game until Week 12.
That slow start was especially painful for the Bengals this past season, because they finished with a 9-8 record and barely missed the playoffs. The Bengals beat the #7 seed Denver Broncos in a 30–24 overtime thriller in Week 17; had the Broncos lost to the Kansas City Chiefs the following week, the Bengals would have snuck into the postseason after beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 19–17 in their regular season finale.
Taylor said the key to beating Jacksonville’s potent offense is winning the turnover battle. The Bengals, Jaguars, and Tennessee Titans are currently in a three-way tie for second place in the NFL in turnover differential: the Bengals forced two interceptions against the Cleveland Browns and did not give the ball away last week; The Jags also had two interceptions and a fumble recovery, but gave up a pick to the Carolina Panthers in Week 1.
“I think that goes a long way in deciding these early season games, is the discipline aspect of all this stuff, and we’re excited to be at home,” Taylor said. “To be 1-0 and come home, and I know our fans are juiced up, and so I know these guys, that’s going to be a big part of this game too, is using the home field advantage to our advantage there.”
Taylor is also looking for an intense crowd atmosphere in Cincy’s home opener. Former defensive end Sam Hubbard, who played all of his seven seasons with the Bengals, will be the “Ruler of the Jungle,” the local or team celebrity who leads the Bengals’ first “Who Dey” chant before every home game.
Taylor joked that he would like Hubbard to be present at the beginning of the game, before the coach has to begin worrying about the game itself. He asked Hubbard to get out of the parking lot with fans 10 minutes early so he could see him lead the chant. Either way, he wants to look up beforehand and see all the fans cheering.
“I know how loud we’re going to be and so let’s do it early,” said Taylor. “Let’s show ‘em right out the gate.”
He said the players will be fired up to open the season, wearing their home orange jerseys. He hopes the team will turn that attitude into performance.
“I think for this first one to be awesome, just to send the message to the team, we’ve got to do our best to start 2–0. And for all the great things that we want to do this year, it starts with playing great at home. And that’s a collective effort from our players, our coaches, our fan base. And so I’m excited to set off 2025 the right way at home.”
