Taylor Notches Signature Win

Well, it has taken almost two years but it has finally happened, Bengals coach Zac Taylor can say he has a signature win on his resume. In one of the most improbable victories in the history of the franchise, the Bengals knocked off the then 11-2 Pittsburgh Steelers, 27-17 in primetime on ESPN’s Monday Night Football in front of 10,249 at Paul Brown Stadium. Over the years, the Steelers and Bengals have played in some of the nastiest games in recent memory. The Steelers have consistently bullied the Bengals in these games, causing them to rack up wins over the Bengals. This year, the Bengals turned the tables on Pittsburgh, nothing a very unlikely win. While it is a signature victory for the Bengals, the win wasn’t pretty, but more in ugly fashion.

The offense struggled mightily, only amassing 230 total yards. Less than 90 of those yards were through the air as Ryan Finley was 7-13 for 89 yards and a touchdown. While the offense wasn’t good, they did enough to get the job done because the defense was fantastic. Throughout the game, the Bengals defense was in the face of Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, making him uncomfortable, forcing him into bad throws and mistakes. The pressure that the defense applied has been something that has not been seen from this team all season. Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo has done an incredible job with very little. It was well known the team spent a bunch of money on the defensive side with the defense yet to play at full strength all season.

The victory improved the Bengals record to a solid 3-10-1, while the Steelers fell to 11-3 on the season. A victory of this magnitude is one that could have given Zac Taylor an extra year as head coach. The Bengals have been in the basement of the NFL for the last two seasons and a move away from Taylor seemed inevitable. While the season has been one to forget for this team, much credit should be placed on Taylor after this win. Taylor has been spewing nothing but positivity week in and week out and the play of this team on Monday night showed they are still invested.

Before the game, the focus was on JuJu Smith-Schuster and his ritual of dancing on the opposing teams logo during warmups. Bengals safety Vonn Bell spoke up about that and warned JuJu to not do it, saying “It’s kind of disrespectful at the end of the day. But they’re on top right now so you can’t really say nothing right now. We just gotta go out there, between the lines, go out there and hit him and let him know where he stands.” Bell wrote a check that his ass cashed with a massive, legal hit on Smith-Schuster, late in the first quarter, which set the tone for the rest of the game. The team fed off that energy, helping carry them to this unlikely victory.

With this signature win and this notch on his belt, it will be interesting to see how the Bengals respond over the final two games of the season. If the Bengals continue that spirited play, look for Taylor to be at the helm next season but if not, Taylor is surely to be one of the casualties on black Monday.

Chris Asbrock is a staff writer and analyst for Impact Sports Cincinnati and can be followed on Twitter Follow @iamchrisasbrock and Follow @ISCincy