CINCINNATI — Coach Zac Taylor and defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo didn’t shy away from shouldering their share of the blame for the Cincinnati Bengals‘ three-game losing streak and a season that has slipped away from them.
After a disappointing loss to the Steelers on Sunday, one that Taylor said the team believed it could have won, he took responsibility for how the team has fared amid a four-win season.
“I’m not going to sit here and put this on the players. As the head coach, you sit there and you’re 4-8,” Taylor said Monday. “You’re a 4-8 head coach. And that starts with you. To get the most out of everybody, that’s my job.”
Anarumo also opened his session with reporters with a similar message after a 44-38 defeat to Cincinnati’s AFC North rival.
“Obviously all of this starts and ends with me,” Anarumo said. “How we play is certainly my responsibility. I think the players have done a fantastic job of preparing, practicing with energy, giving us their best. I’m proud of the way we’ve gone about that.
“We need to do a better job — I need to do a better job of making sure it shows up on Sundays.”
Cincinnati’s defense has struggled over the course of the season and voided standout performances from quarterback Joe Burrow and the offense. With the loss to Pittsburgh, Cincinnati became the first team in NFL history to lose four games in a season while scoring at least 33 points in those contests.
Many issues led to the Bengals being unable to limit a Steelers offense that ranked 25th in the league in touchdowns per drive and 30th in red zone efficiency entering Sunday. Taylor said that details were lacking and tackling was insufficient. Anarumo counted at least 12 missed tackles, an issue that has occured over the course of the season. Those issues contributed to 37 offensive points allowed in the loss.
Anarumo repeatedly took responsibility for the defense’s ineffectiveness during his 20-minute session with reporters Monday. It comes with the territory, he said.
“We all know, as NFL coaches, what we signed up for,” Anarumo said when asked if this was the most pressure he has felt in his six-year tenure with the club. “And like I said, my concerns are our players and getting them in the best position to be successful on Sundays. That’s all I think about.”
Since Sunday’s loss and throughout the season, players have indicated that the blame on the defensive coordinator has been unwarranted. Second-year safety Jordan Battle, who made his first start of the season against Pittsburgh (9-3), reiterated that point Monday.
“He’s always going to put the blame on himself,” Battle said. “In reality, it’s not Coach Lou. It’s all of us as one. We have to do our job when Coach Lou calls the play. And we can always save the down with any call that we have.”
Battle said he felt the team had great effort at practice, a lot of energy and solid enthusiasm — all traits of a team that was still playing hard despite a 3.7% chance of making the playoffs. In his postgame comments Sunday, Burrow made it a point to say the rest of this season will be about finding out which players handle adversity well and should be part of roster moving forward.
Taylor and the majority of this coaching staff know the situation well. In 2019 and 2020, the Bengals won a combined six games before going to the Super Bowl in 2021 and the AFC Championship Game in 2022.
All of those experiences were indirectly referenced by Taylor on Monday as the Bengals attempt to chart their path forward.
“Oftentimes, you all have watched me sit up here for six years and fight through a lot of adversity,” Taylor said. “I see what’s on the other side of it. You see the people you want to do it with. Right now, this serves as an opportunity to evaluate the people you want to continue to do it with.”
That process will continue next week, when the Bengals face the Dallas Cowboys on “Monday Night Football,” a prime-time matchup that Taylor and the team are relishing.
“It’s a great opportunity,” Taylor said. “What more really can you ask for? I think our guys will respond well to that.”
