The Cincinnati Bengals staged a big comeback to force overtime against the San Francisco 49ers, but ultimately lost the game in the extra period. Head coach Zac Taylor thinks that could have been avoided had he been a bit more aggressive.
The Bengals were down 20-6 coming into the fourth quarter, but made it 20-20 with a pair of touchdown passes. The comeback was largely down to the play of quarterback Joe Burrow, who got hot in the fourth as he threw for 348 yards and two touchdowns during the game.
When Cincinnati won the coin toss and got the ball first in overtime, Burrow picked up where he left off. He connected with Tee Higgins for 26 yards on the first play from scrimmage, putting the ball on the San Francisco 49. One play later, Burrow connected with C.J. Uzomah for another 23 yards, putting the Bengals in prime scoring position at the 49ers’ 26-yard line.
At that point, the Bengals got curiously conservative. The big pass plays were followed by a pair of runs by Joe Mixon, setting up a third and short where Burrow was sacked.
After the game, Taylor was left second-guessing his own strategy. He admitted that he should have kept throwing on first down, trusting Burrow and riding the hot hand instead of playing it safe with Mixon.
Zac Taylor says he wishes he would’ve thrown on 1st&10 at the 26 in overtime.
Said running twice instead of sticking with Joe Burrow’s hot hand will keep him awake tonight. #Bengals @FOX19 pic.twitter.com/07Ewm0FVQL
— Jeremy Rauch (@FOX19Jeremy) December 13, 2021
Taylor’s strategy would have made a lot more sense had the Bengals just needed a field goal to win. The Bengals wound up getting that field goal, but it didn’t matter when San Francisco scored a touchdown on the ensuing possession. It almost seemed as if Taylor was playing not to lose instead of going all-out for the win.
Taylor has been scrutinized previously this season for leaning way too hard on Mixon when the situation does not warrant it. Based on these remarks, he may have learned a lesson from it this time, but it comes too late to save the Bengals from a painful loss.
