Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said he won’t hand off play-calling duties coming out of the team’s Week 6 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
Taylor was asked about the idea after falling to 0-6 and simply shut it down, per ESPN’s Ben Baby.
The Cincinnati offense was again messy in Baltimore, gaining just 250 yards. Not only was it outgained by the Ravens 497-250, but Baltimore also ran for 269 yards — outgaining the Bengals in total yardage.
Taylor’s play calls produced 10 points (seven came on a game-opening kickoff return), a 5-of-11 mark on third down and a 1-of-2 mark in the red zone.
Scoring within 20 yards has been a massive problem for the Bengals all year. Andy Dalton has thrown just two touchdowns over his last three games, and Joe Mixon mustered just 1.8 yards per carry in Baltimore.
While play-calling experience and overall resume were criticisms of Taylor when he was hired, there is a counter in the form of injuries — he’s without many core pieces of the offensive line, not to mention A.J. Green.
Even then, the calls have been suspect, with recently extended players like Giovani Bernard and Tyler Eifert not getting much run. If Taylor were to hand off playcalling, it would go to offensive coordinator Brian Callahan, a 34-year-old who had previously been no higher than a quarterbacks coach.
