During a season gone off the rails, the Cincinnati Bengals are weighing how much to play Ja’Marr Chase. And Zac Taylor responded to Chase’s comments concerning the coaching staff. The latter is part of why Zac Taylor must be on the hot seat after the Bengals’ loss to the Chargers.

Taylor currently ranks No. 4 on the cbssports.com hot-seat list. He follows Mike McCarthy, Matt Eberflus, and sinking-fast Doug Pederson.

Looking at the body of work, Taylor struggled in year one with a mark of 2-14 in 2019. He followed up with records of 4-11-1, 10-7, 12-4, and 9-8. Taylor guided the Bengals to the Super Bowl in 2021. But the team is 4-7 and struggling this year, putting Taylor in an awkward position with the franchise.

Is Bengals HC Zac Taylor wasting an opportunity?

One of the worst things a coach can do is let a potentially great season slip away. And the Bengals did it right off the bat. Taylor didn’t have his bunch ready to play, and the season-opening loss to New England crucially affected the entire season.

Cincinnati also let games slip away against the Chiefs and Commanders, finding themselves in a 0-3 hole. The Bengals could have climbed out, but let a tight one get loose against the Ravens. If they had beaten the Ravens, the Bengals would have carried a four-game winning streak into the contest with the Eagles.

But after winning three of four, the Bengals lost to the Eagles, Ravens, and Chargers. The latter two contests finished excruciatingly close, leading credence to the notion that Taylor doesn’t have a grip on the team.

Making matters worse, quarterback Joe Burrow is having an incredible season with 3,028 yards, 27 touchdowns, and only four interceptions. He’s on pace to set a team record with 42 scoring tosses.

Also, Chase has 73 grabs for 1,056 yards with 12 scores. That puts him on pace to set team records with 1,632 yards, 113 catches, and a shocking 19 touchdowns.

Bengals offense working well by design

Despite those players’ totals, the playoffs look like a long shot. Bengals offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher said the numbers are the product of designing things to make players successful, according to bengals.com.

“I will say it until I am blue in the face,” Pitcher said. “We are player-centric. Everything we do is going to be about our players and accentuating strengths. Minimizing their weaknesses. They are our two best players.

“When you have two players like that who can change a game at any moment, if you are doing something other than giving them a chance to do that, that’s in some ways an opportunity lost. You can’t go too far in the other direction because you have to be balanced. We have a lot of other players who can change a game too so that all goes into the chemistry of a game plan, calling a game, and all of those things.”

Putting Chase in the slot at times has opened things up, Pitcher said.

“We were just constructed differently in the past,” he said. “There were more defined roles. I think that’s who our players were and we did the right thing there. (And) I think if (last year’s OC) Brian Callahan was the offensive coordinator of this group of players, we would be doing the same thing. I don’t think this is a, ‘Dan Pitcher does it differently than Brian Callahan,’ thing.

“I just think we (personnel) are a little bit different. We have been intentional about moving him around. We’ll continue to be intentional. He is our best player. We have some other really good ones but we have to always be inventive and intentional about putting him in spots to get the football.”

Zac Taylor has to shoulder blame for 7 losses

All of that offensive success blows back on Taylor because the Bengals (4-7) aren’t winning. Taylor could still turn things around. The Bengals aren’t eliminated from the playoff picture, holding a 14% chance to make it, according to the New York Times and ESPN. And if the Bengals win their final six games they have a 94% shot of making it. That’s a tall order because they would have to sweep Pittsburgh, but with an explosive offense, it’s not impossible.

ESPN’s Dan Graziano said it’s wise to watch out for the Bengals. If they make the playoffs, they could make noise, according to espn.com.

“If things fall apart for some of the teams on the back end of the AFC race and Cincinnati runs the table to sneak in, it is going to be a formidable opponent because it has a championship-caliber offense,” Graziano wrote. “(And if the Bengals do run the table, I have to assume that means the defense is playing better).”

Taylor said the Bengals are fighting and clawing to get there, according to espn.com.

“We all want to win,” Taylor said. “You put a lot of pressure on yourself. And when you don’t (win), it can lead to frustration. But, feel very confident we’re on the same page and we’ll be good going forward.”

Zac Taylor may ride out the storm

Taylor is certainly on the hot seat, but NFL insider Albert Breer said he will be coaching in Cincinnati in 2025, according to Sports Illustrated.

“I don’t think the Cincinnati Bengals are moving on from Taylor (look at the team’s history, and what Taylor’s accomplished there), and I actually don’t think coaching is the issue, either,” Breer wrote. “The problem has been the defense. Defensive tackle, with D.J. Reader gone, is an issue. Sam Hubbard’s age and mileage is showing. The corners that the Bengals drafted have not really delivered.

“And last year, at safety, they missed the communication piece in losing Jessie Bates III and Vonn Bell. So, they brought Bell back this year, and he’s shown that he’s clearly hit the back nine of his career. All of which is why Cincinnati now has to win shootouts.”