Cincinnati Bengals rebuilt to face Raiders in NFL playoffs

When Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor took over his team in 2019, he dreamed of a moment like the one he had on Sunday night watching the Las Vegas Raiders play the Los Angeles Chargers.

Perhaps maybe he didn’t think he would have to stay up past midnight for it to happen, but the end result was  always the same – Taylor found out who his team would be playing in a home playoff game. Rather than going to sleep after a trip back to Cincinnati from Cleveland hours before, Taylor couldn’t allow himself to sleep without knowing who he and his staff would be getting ready for.

In typical Taylor fashion, his response when he realized it would be a rematch with Las Vegas was exactly how it is every week. He stays true to himself no matter what and it’s largely the reason he’s been able to navigate the last three seasons. 

“Here we are, we’re playing the Raiders and we’ll get ready for them,” Taylor said on Monday.

The stage is set for Taylor and franchise quarterback Joe Burrow to do something in Cincinnati that hasn’t been done since the 1991 season – win a playoff game. They’ll have the opportunity to change the narrative around the Bengals’ franchise in a favorable matchup at home.

Taylor says he won’t be changing his messaging or anything this week despite the high stakes of Saturday’s game.

Why?

Because remaining consistent in the approach and never wavering in messaging is what got the Bengals to this point.

“This is what we've been striving for all along to be quite honest with you,” Taylor said. “We've been on our guys to be consistent with how they practice every day and raise the standard so that when you get to this moment, we don't have to change what we're doing. I think that's why I've got a lot of confidence in the group of men in that locker room, because I don't need them to raise their standard of play and how they practice."