Jan 2, 2022; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor paces the sideline in the first quarter during a Week 17 NFL game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Sunday, Jan. 2, 2022, at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati. Mandatory Credit: Kareem Elgazzar-USA TODAY Sports
Social media did not have a lot of sympathy for Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor after his team’s latest loss.
Taylor and the Bengals fell on Thursday to the Baltimore Ravens by a 35-34 final. Trailing 35-28 with under two minutes to go, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow led the team on a 70-yard scoring drive, which culminated in a five-yard touchdown pass to Ja’Marr Chase with 38 seconds left.
Instead of kicking the extra point though, Taylor decided to go for two and the win. The gambit failed though as Burrow’s pass attempt to tight end Tanner Hudson on the two-point try fell incomplete.
THE RAVENS STOP THE TWO POINT ATTEMPT
38 seconds remain in the game. pic.twitter.com/Nn9YLLk2NX
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) November 8, 2024
Unsurprisingly, users on X went in on Taylor for the unsuccessful gamble. Here is a sampling of the roasting that Taylor received.
Zac Taylor pic.twitter.com/BQJ61J75BI
— Never Take An L (@Nezzzooo) November 8, 2024
Zac Taylor is the dumbest head coach in the NFL
— Barstool LSU (@LSUBarstool) November 8, 2024
POV if Zac Taylor didn’t have Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase pic.twitter.com/3PK6ih7n08
— (@juerter) November 8, 2024
Zac Taylor when they get back to Cincy pic.twitter.com/lWBcUkzIno
— Tom Fink (@finkdontstink) November 8, 2024
Oh zac Taylor pic.twitter.com/j59qoq0VVr
— Gina (@yes_hi_hello_) November 8, 2024
You probably cannot fault Taylor for the decision to go for two and the win instead of going for overtime since the Bengals were playing on the road and had a gassed defense that had just given up to four second-half touchdowns to Baltimore. But what you can fault him for is for drawing up the two-point play for Hudson instead of for Chase, who had 11 catches for 264 yards and three touchdowns on the day. On top of that, Taylor’s very head-scratching playcalls throughout the second half were a major reason why the Bengals blew a 21-7 lead and were in that position to begin with.
Cincinnati can point to the three missed penalties on just their final drive alone as a huge reason why they lost the game. But in terms of what they could actually control, the Bengals and especially Taylor really didn’t do themselves any favors either.