National Football League

Bengals, 0-2, confident ahead of matchup vs. Commanders' 'college offense'

Published Sep. 20, 2024 1:37 p.m. ET

Cam Taylor-Britt, Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals are 0-2, but the slow start isn't fazing them.

Speaking about Cincinnati's Week 3 matchup against rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders, Taylor-Britt appeared to shade Washington's offense.

"They don't make him [Daniels] do a lot. They keep it really simple for him. Nice college offense. [Kliff] Kingsbury's the OC, so move guys around here and there. They just keep it real simple for him," Taylor-Britt told the Cincinnati press core about Daniels and the Commanders on Thursday. "I heard his pass percentage is very high, but he's only running some intermediate stuff, quick throws."

This comes one week after the cornerback expressed that he was unimpressed by Kansas City Chiefs rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy, saying he can merely "run straight."

As for their general outlook, Burrow is bullish on the Bengals' prospects.

"We've got to focus on getting better every day through our practice, and go out and execute when we have to execute on Monday, the rest will take care of itself. We're in a fine spot. We've been here before. We're not panicking," Burrow said on Thursday. "We're focused on getting a win and getting better every day."

Were the Chiefs lucky to beat the Bengals?

To Burrow's point, the Bengals were indeed 0-2 two seasons ago and managed to right the ship and make the AFC Championship Game. That said, this is the third consecutive season that they've started 0-2, with them missing the playoffs last season — albeit Burrow's season-ending wrist injury factored into that result.

Cincinnati lost at home to the New England Patriots — who have since lost two consecutive games, most recently losing 24-3 to the New York Jets – in Week 1, 16-10, which it followed by losing a grueling, 26-25 game on the road to the Chiefs. In the latter game, the Bengals were flagged for defensive pass interference on fourth-and-16 with 40 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, which helped the Chiefs get into position for kicker Harrison Butker to eventually make a walk-off, 51-yard field goal.

Across the Bengals' first two games, Taylor-Britt has totaled one interception — which was an absurd, one-handed grab — two passes defended and nine combined tackles; Burrow has totaled 422 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, zero interceptions and a 95.8 passer rating, while completing 67.7% of his passes.

As for the rest of the AFC North, the Baltimore Ravens are also 0-2, while the Cleveland Browns are 1-1; the Pittsburgh Steelers are in first place at 2-0.

Following Cincinnati's Week 3 game against Washington, it has a road bout with the Carolina Panthers (1 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app), its first AFC North game at home against the Ravens and a road matchup against the New York Giants. All three of those opponents are winless.

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