Zac Taylor's conservatism can't be excused away as Bengals fall helplessly into a 1-4 hole

The Cincinnati Bengals were gifted a miracle, and they gave it away like it was nothing.

After giving up 17 points in the fourth quarter alone, the Bengals watched Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens fumble away their first possession of overtime. Germaine Pratt took the loose ball inside the Ravens' 40-yard line, setting the Bengals' offense up for a long field goal try to win the game.

The Bengals' offense had a chance to truly put the game away, and it curled up like a frightened child as three run plays went for a total of three yards. Evan McPherson's 53-yard kick was doomed to fail thanks to a bad hold from rookie Ryan Rehkow, and the Ravens went on to win the game with their next possession.

Head coach Zac Taylor has to live with that outcome since he's the one who could've prevented it.

When asked about settling for a long field goal on a windy day in Cincinnati, Taylor pointed to his quarterback, Joe Burrow, changing a called pass to a run at the line, and a conservative mindset and that led to how the drive concluded.

"We feel like we're in field goal range," Taylor said after the game to reporters . "And you know, we've thrown the ball in that situation before. We called a pass. Joe actually did a great job getting us out of it, back into a run, because the look was not there to throw it. And so there was good management by him, still got a couple yards out of it, and then we're in a position to win the field goal. And we thought we'd win it with that."

Burrow did confirm in his presser that he called out of the pass on first down.

"I mean, as good as their rush is, you always take a chance at getting sacked in that situation," Burrow said . "We're in field goal range. They made a kick down the stretch, and we didn't.

"It wasn't a good look for the one we had called."

Okay, one play is one play. This is still an offense that took it to the Ravens' secondary all afternoon. Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins were all playing at their absolute best. A first down creates a much more manageable field goal attempt.

Focusing on what could've gone wrong eliminated Taylor from allowing that to happen.

"A sack, a holding penalty, all the things that can knock you back," Taylor said. "So when you're in field goal range and you believe in your kicker, it really is as simple as that."

This has happened before. In 2021, the Bengals were in a tight game against the San Francisco 49ers that went to overtime. After Burrow made two throws to get the offense into scoring range, Taylor called back-to-back runs and Burrow took a third down sack that stalled the drive. McPherson made a short field goal, and the Bengals' defense gave up a game-losing touchdown a few minutes later.

Taking the ball out of Burrow's hands in the most critical moments is inexcusable for a sixth-year head coach. No matter how good your kicker is when the snap and hold is executed, if you have the QB to make it easier, that's an asset not many other teams have.

Taylor and the Bengals showed how unworthy they are of having the right QB at this moment in time.