As the offseason calendar flipped from June to July and the Bengals' 2025 season outlook was discussed, most arrived at the same conclusion.
The Bengals don't play quality football early in the season. They always start slow under Zac Taylor.
The numbers back these claims. Joe Burrow is 2-9 as a starter in Weeks 1-2 in his career. It's been a point of focus for Cincinnati since they opened camp in July.
After one week, they're on the right foot. The Bengals outlasted the Browns in an ugly 17-16 win that counts in the standings, but also included plenty of issues that need fixing.
On Sunday, Taylor can start 2-0 for the first time in his career as Bengals coach. He's 0-5 in Week 2 and swung and missed in his last opportunity to start with two straight victories. It's arguably even more important to him than going 1-0 every week.
"Yeah, I just want to be 2-0," Taylor admitted Wednesday. "I know I haven't been 2-0 since I've been here. That I can tell you."
Cincinnati already crossed off one item on its season-long checklist by defeating a division opponent on the road, and now it'll play in the friendly confines of Paycor Stadium for the first time in the 2025 regular season. They'll welcome the Jacksonville Jaguars -- also Week 1 winners -- on Sunday, and regardless of opponent, Taylor knows it remains vitally important that his Bengals play well in Cincinnati.
"For all the great things that we want to do this year, it starts with playing great at home," Taylor said, "and that's a collective effort from our players, our coaches, our fan base."
After missing the playoffs in each of the last two seasons -- an outcome caused at least in part by slow starts -- Taylor is coaching under a new level of pressure in 2025. The Bengals believe they're built to chase a Super Bowl title but know the road to that end goal is much more difficult if they don't take care of business in September.
With this in mind, the focus remains the same: Win on Sunday.
"What concerns us is starting out 1-0 at home and then that puts (our) best foot forward to do all the things we want to do in our division and so on," Taylor said.
If the Bengals do, it'll end up being especially satisfying for Taylor -- at least for a few hours.
