Taylor to remain playcaller amid Bengals' skid

CINCINNATI -- Bengals manager Zac Taylor isn't relinquishing 1 of the team's astir important duties.

Taylor confirmed Monday that helium volition clasp his relation arsenic the team's violative playcaller aft the Bengals suffered their 3rd consecutive loss, a 37-24 location decision to the Detroit Lions connected Sunday. Cincinnati mustered conscionable 3 points done the archetypal 3 quarters for the 3rd consecutive week. That prompted Taylor to instrumentality work for his stock of the team's struggles.

Taylor said helium volition proceed successful the dual capableness helium has held since taking implicit arsenic the team's caput manager successful 2019.

"I consciousness precise comfortable," Taylor said. "It's a just question. We people 3 points successful 3 games successful the archetypal half. I wholly recognize that. But close now, it's going to stay the same."

Cincinnati has been without starting backmost Joe Burrow since helium suffered a turf toed wounded successful Week 2 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Jake Browning has started the past 3 games that person coincided with the team's worst violative rut successful Taylor's seven-year tenure. At 1 constituent successful Sunday's nonaccomplishment to Detroit, the squad trailed 28-3 earlier yet scoring 3 fourth-quarter touchdowns to marque the crippled a spot much competitive.

Taylor said that successful his relation arsenic the playcaller, helium relies connected others passim the discourtesy for gathering input successful however the portion operates.

"I trust connected them arsenic overmuch arsenic I deliberation immoderate playcaller successful the league relies connected anybody else," Taylor said.

It is communal for caput coaches astir the league to clasp some roles for a team. But recently, determination has been precedent for those titles being split. Tennessee Titans manager Brian Callahan, who was Taylor's violative coordinator from 2019 to 2023, precocious surrendered his playcalling duties to different unit subordinate amid his team's mediocre commencement to the season. The Titans won their archetypal crippled of the play connected Sunday, a 22-21 triumph implicit the Arizona Cardinals.

Through 5 games, Cincinnati (2-3) ranks adjacent the bottommost of each large statistical category. The Bengals are 30th successful points per thrust (1.52), 31st successful yards per play (4.3) and a necktie for 28th successful violative points per crippled (17).

"Finding much opportunities for our playmakers to get the shot and uncovering ways to get them casual touches that they tin pb to productivity successful our offense," Taylor said erstwhile asked astir ways helium tin amended arsenic a playcaller. "We haven't been productive enough. I don't interest astir statistic close now. I attraction astir wins."

While that facet of Cincinnati's discourtesy is cemented, the concern astatine backmost remains uncertain heading into Sunday's crippled astatine Green Bay (2-1-1). When asked if Browning volition commencement this weekend, Taylor said that volition beryllium evaluated successful the days starring up to Wednesday, the team's archetypal signifier of the week.

Bengals violative coordinator Dan Pitcher said helium had a agelong speech with Browning connected Monday aft the backmost threw 3 interceptions against the Lions, giving him a full of 8 connected the season.

"You privation to spot him person success," Pitcher said. "All astatine the aforesaid time, it's a results-based deal, and you cognize the play has got to beryllium b...