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          NFL Nation

          Why Bengals' offensive uptick bodes well for Zac Taylor's future

          • Ben Baby, ESPN Staff WriterNov 12, 2020, 06:00 AM ET
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              Ben Baby covers the Cincinnati Bengals for ESPN. He joined the company in July 2019. Prior to ESPN, he worked for various newspapers in Texas, most recently at The Dallas Morning News where he covered college sports. He provides daily coverage of the Bengals for ESPN.com, while making appearances on SportsCenter, ESPN's NFL shows and ESPN Radio programs. A native of Grapevine, Texas, he graduated from the University of North Texas with a bachelor's degree in journalism. He is an adjunct journalism professor at Southern Methodist University and a member of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA).
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          CINCINNATI -- When Cincinnati Bengals coach Zac Taylor and offensive coordinator Brian Callahan watched the tape from the two 2019 meetings against the Pittsburgh Steelers, it was just as rough as they remembered.

          Thirteen combined points. That's all the Bengals could muster against their AFC North rivals. As the team floated in quarterback limbo, the offense was not as productive as Cincinnati hoped when Taylor was hired in 2019 as head coach and playcaller.

          That seems to be changing at the midway point of Taylor's second season. Since Week 6, the Bengals have averaged 30.1 points per game, good for fifth in the NFL during that span. If that trend continues, Cincinnati could have the answers to one of the biggest questions surrounding its rebuild.

          Taylor's status as a playcaller was as unproven as his ability to be an NFL head coach. But the recent uptick in production indicates Taylor's vision could be sustainable when the playoff window opens for the Bengals in 2021.

          The top endorsement for the 37-year-old coach comes from the most important person in the organization.

          "We have a great guy at the helm in Zac," rookie quarterback Joe Burrow said last week. "He's putting together great game plans and calling great plays. We have guys who are smart enough that understand what his vision is, and we have a lot of faith in each other."

          Burrow, who is making a strong case to be the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year, is a big reason for Cincinnati's recent offensive success. The Bengals (2-5-1) have relied on the 2020 top overall draft pick to lead the offense and he has responded.

          Entering Sunday's game against the 8-0 Steelers (4:25 p.m. ET, FOX), Burrow is third in the NFL in pass attempts and 14th in completion percentage above expectation, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. Burrow (2,272 yards) is on pace to break Andrew Luck's 2012 record for most passing yards by a rookie (4,374).

          But as much as 2020 is about figuring out if Burrow will be Cincinnati's next franchise quarterback, it's also going to show where Taylor stands.

          When Cincinnati hired Taylor, he was the receivers coach for the Los Angeles Rams, who were coming off a trip to the Super Bowl under coach Sean McVay. Before that, Taylor's experience as an offensive coordinator and playcaller was extremely limited.

          In 2015, he held those duties with the Miami Dolphins in an interim capacity as part of a lame-duck coaching staff that was fired at the end of the season. The following season, Taylor was the offensive coordinator at the University of Cincinnati under Tommy Tuberville, who was fired at the end of the 2016 campaign.

          That year, UC was ninth in the American Athletic Conference in yards per play and next to last in points per drive in a season in which the Bearcats were never able to get consistent quarterback play. Three years later, Taylor became the head coach of the NFL franchise in the same city.

          For the first 21 games of Taylor's tenure, the Bengals ranked 29th in yards per play and 29th in offensive scoring.

          But starting with Week 6 against the Indianapolis Colts, when the Bengals opened the game with a 21-0 run that disappeared in a 31-27 loss, the offense started to find its form.

          Part of the Bengals' success stemmed from Burrow's rapid development, despite all the offseason limitations because of COVID-19. But the coaching staff also crafted the offense around Burrow and put him in empty backfield formations and bunch sets that created mismatches and allowed him to scan defenses quickly.

          Taylor attributed the recent success to the players.

          "It's not just luck that's going out there and we're moving the football," Taylor said. "It's because of a lot of things that the staff has really harped on over the last six months taking place each and every week.

          "And those players really buying in, seeing the success that comes from it and taking it to that next level."

          Against the Titans, Taylor picked up his first victory over a team with a winning record as the offense played well for the third straight week. Even though the Bengals had one win entering the Week 8 game, Burrow walked into the locker room at halftime and said he felt the unit was unstoppable. The sentiment embodied the feeling that was building since the start of the season.

          "We knew once we meshed together, once we jelled together, once we were able to get things stacking up against each other we were able to go out and beat anybody," Bengals running back Giovani Bernard said.

          The final eight weeks of Cincinnati's season will show where the Bengals stand under Taylor going into 2021, when they will be expected to compete for their first playoff berth since 2015.

          And even though things are slowly turning around, Taylor knows there's still a lot of work to be done.

          "We still have a long ways to go," Taylor said. "We're not even close to being a great offense yet. But the guys are seeing the improvement because of the work that they're putting in."