The Cincinnati Bengals have won two straight games as they improved to 6–10. In those two games, the Bengals have outscored their opponents by 47 points. Despite the team’s failures this year , they have been good when their core group of players has been available. After the win on Sunday, the Bengals are now 4–1 when Joe Burrow, Tee Higgins, and Ja’Marr Chase are all active for Cincinnati.

Unfortunately, the trio were not available for the Bengals all year as hoped. Instead, they missed out on the postseason for the third consecutive season. Head coach Zac Taylor’s record dropped to 52–62–1 as questions about his job security arose . When asked about the topic previously, Taylor said , “I don’t think it really matters. I coach every day like it’s my last, and I’ve been through years in 2019 and 2020 that were literally you coach every game thinking it could be your last game, and I’ve seen how we responded after that … so this year is no different.

For me, it’s going through adversity coaching every game in this profession like it could be your last one.”

Zac Taylor’s Likely Future Revealed

With the final week of the season approaching, the dreaded “Black Monday ” is days away for NFL coaches. However, a new report by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler seems to indicate that Zac Taylor will not be one of those names included on Black Monday firings, as Fowler said “Cincinnati’s Zac Taylor appears to be safe.” Of course, nothing is ever certain in the NFL, which makes the Bengals’ season finale all the more important.

In the case that Taylor would be let go, ESPN’s Dan Graziano speculated that Bills’ offensive coordinator Joe Brady would be a name the Bengals target. Graziano told Fowler, “Brady would be the guy to watch in Cincinnati if the Bengals did move on from Taylor, but like you, I don’t expect that to happen.” Brady has served as the Bills offensive coordinator since halfway through the 2023 season, when he took over for Ken Dorsey. Alongside star quarterback Josh Allen, Brady has led the Bills to a top 10 offense in all three of his seasons as the team’s coordinator. He had previously been the Panthers offensive coordinator for the 2020 and 2021 seasons before being dismissed by Matt Rhule.

Bengals Regular Season Finale

The Cincinnati Bengals will finish the year off at home against the Browns. The two teams started the 2025 season against each other, but they will look very different than they did in Week 1. For starters, the Browns starting quarterback Joe Flacco in that matchup is now the backup to Joe Burrow in Cincinnati. Flacco was acquired by Cincinnati in a midseason trade after getting benched for Dillon Gabriel in Cleveland. He went 1–5 as the Bengals starter.

All-Pro pass-rusher Trey Hendrickson started for the Bengals in Week 1, and registered his first sack of the season. Hendrickson has been out since Week 8. His four sacks this year mark the fewest since coming to Cincinnati in 2021. Starting for the Browns, will be rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders, who will be making the seventh start of his young career.