Tyler Boyd isn’t thrilled coming out of Sunday’s loss.
The No. 1 wideout for the Cincinnati Bengals was oddly not part of the gameplan often. Zac Taylor’s attack in the seven-point loss doled out four or more targets to four different players.
Boyd wasn’t one of those.
“I feel like I’m a game-changer and I can use my talents any way that comes my way,” Boyd said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “They were playing a lot of zone coverage. I felt like I should have the opportunities in the red zone, especially that second-to-last-drive.”
Now, Boyd isn’t the type to cause a ruckus. He’s a quiet leader and like anyone else on the team, he’s had some down games this season.
But Sunday’s debacle was strange. The Raiders entered the game with one of the NFL’s worst pass defenses statistically. Ryan Finley attempted 31 passes and only three of those went to Boyd. He also completed just 13 overall for 115 yards.
Most notably, a key fourth-down target late in the game went to Damion Willis. Not Boyd, or even two of the tight ends or running backs, but Willis, who had just gotten called back up from the practice squad days earlier.
We’d be remiss not to mention Taylor’s play-calling has seemed spotty for most of the season. And while this isn’t Boyd railing against his coach, he can’t ignore what everybody else knows — he should’ve been more involved in a close game.
