Few, if any, teams are capable of stopping the Cincinnati Bengals heading into this NFL season.
Sometimes, you just know…
The last two years watching the Cincinnati Bengals turn it around has been nothing short of incredible to watch. I mean, they were pitiful towards the end of the Andy Dalton era under center in the Queen City. He was a great player for him earlier in his prime, but man, that thing got stale fast. For now, the Bengals are without question one of the coolest and best franchises in the NFL.
With so much at stake, here are five dream scenarios that would indicate a perfect year for them.
Cincinnati Bengals: 5 dream scenarios for a perfect 2023 NFL season
5. Zac Taylor finally gets the respect he has earned as a top-five NFL head coach
It wasn’t easy for him initially taking over for Marvin Lewis, but I think this is the year Zac Taylor finally gets the respect he deserves as a head coach. He may have an incredible coaching staff behind him, but I think the type of season the Bengals are capable of will be because of the culture he has set in place. He is an offensive mind, but he has all of his players and staff pulling together.
No, he’s not going to become the next Andy Reid or Bill Belichick overnight, but there will come a point during the season where Taylor gets the love and fanfare of other high-quality coaches in the league such as Doug Pederson, Sean McDermott and even Brian Daboll. The Bengals have to obviously win titles first for him to reach the coaching summit, but he is well on his way already.
Ultimately, I just get a sense that there will be a game or three this fall where Taylor’s underrated coaching brilliance will get his team wins they did not deserve. When you are clawing and scratching in the NFL’s black and blue division and sitting near the top of the league’s highest perch, you want home-field advantage more than anything. The No. 1 seed is a real possibility.
One of the best things that can happen to the Bengals this season is for Taylor to get his shine.