Bengals
Bengals HC Zac Taylor took the blame for the team’s offensive struggles following the 28-3 loss to the Broncos.
“It really starts with me on offense, getting those guys in a rhythm, create some momentum, so our defense isn’t out there all day,” Taylor said, via SI. “First and foremost it’s my job to help Jake and find ways to give our guys the best chance to help Jake (Browning) as well. I’m optimistic right now that we put together a really good plan. I’m excited to get to work, practice today. We’re all accountable that three points isn’t good enough, ten points isn’t good enough. Our expectation is that we have to score a lot to take pressure off our defense, put pressure on the opponent. We have not done that the last two weeks in particular. And it really starts with me on offense, getting those guys in a rhythm, create some momentum, so our defense isn’t out there all day.“
Taylor preached to the team that dealing with adversity is part of playing in the NFL after the team has suffered multiple key injuries, including to QB Joe Burrow.
“Part of playing the NFL is dealing with adversity. Every team at some point is going to face some adversity. We’re facing it early in the season. We’ve done this before,” Taylor said. “Part of our job is to come to work ready to roll, given our best, have a sense of urgency, not hang our heads because we’ve lost two games. That’s unacceptable to me. Urgency is the word I would say. It has our standard been acceptable on every single play in the last two games. I would say it hasn’t been. So you’ve got to look within yourself: ‘Is my standard acceptable?’ ‘Hey, it wasn’t that bad.’ Not bad’s not good enough. It’s got to be great. And this week on a short week, I expect our guys to hold themselves to that standard. I’ll hold them to that standard, myself to that standard. We have to be great. Anything less than that is unacceptable right now where we’re at. We’ve just got to find a way to get our third win and get it quickly and build on that momentum from that.“
Ravens
Ravens QB Lamar Jackson is expected to miss Week 5 with his hamstring injury, making backup QB Cooper Rush in line to start. Veteran TE Mark Andrews said Rush understands their offense and is ready for the opportunity.
“He’s a pro’s pro,” Andrews said, via Clifton Brown and Ryan Mink of the team’s site. “He really dove into this offense, understands it extremely well. He’s going to know what to do. I know he’s fired up for the opportunity to go show what he’s all about. There’s a reason why he’s been in the league [eight years]. He’s a really good player.”
Andrews said he’s been communicating with Rush to learn how he sees the field and what he’s looking for.
“Open communication,” Andrews said. “How he sees things, how he wants you to run the route. Just being able to be there for him, be friendly to him. We have a lot of guys who are committed to that.”
Ravens WR Rashod Bateman said they have trust in Rush to run the show.
“Coop’s done an amazing job since he’s been here,” Bateman said. “We’ve got all the trust that he’ll get the job done.”
Steelers
- Dan Graziano of ESPN points out that Steelers RB Jaylen Warren missed Week 4 after suffering a knee injury in pre-game warmups, but the team is hopeful that he’ll return following their bye for Week 6.
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