Tyler Boyd Enjoying Moment, But Focused on Much Bigger Prize After Years of Losing

"This is probably one of the most special moments I’ve had."

Author:
Elise Jesse
Updated:
Jan 7, 2022 9:09 AM EST
Original:
Jan 7, 2022

Tyler Boyd knew the Bengals' history when they selected him in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft.

The star wide-out was born in 1994. He wasn’t alive the last time the Bengals won a playoff game. Cincinnati's last postseason win was 31 years ago when they beat the Houston Oilers 41-14 on Jan. 6, 1991.

“I knew they hadn’t won a (playoff) game, but they keep getting there, keep getting there," Boyd said in an exclusive interview with All Bengals. "I just felt like one of these years a missing piece is going to come in and it will be that right moment for us to win a game.”

The Bengals were coming off of an incredible season the year of Boyd's arrival. They started 8-0 with high hopes and what seemed to be a non-existent ceiling.

“That year felt different from most years. I just felt like we had the perfect combination of talent, veteran leadership, youth, playmaking ability and we were clicking at the right time,” former Bengals safety George Iloka said. “We were hot at the right time.”

Cincinnati suffered an unfathomable implosion at home against the Steelers in the AFC Wild Card game, rallying from a double-digit deficit, just to lose a heartbreaker 18-16

"We destructed on ourselves," former Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said that night.

It was ugly, but the ending was the worst part. Ryan Shazier somehow knocking the ball out of Jeremy Hill’s clutch would be the start of the meltdown in the final minutes of an already heated battle. Everyone remembers what happened next.

Boyd was watching like the rest of us as it unfolded.

“I don’t like putting people on the spot but the last thing I remember was the J-Hill fumble,” Boyd said. “That was the game. I can’t imagine how that locker room was at that time."

“Anything less than an AFC Championship was a disappointment because that’s the kind of team I thought we had and our window with those guys was coming to an end,” Iloka said.

Winning a playoff game en route to a Super Bowl wasn’t just an individual goal. Winning for ownership was a significant source of motivation as well.

“Was it a burden to win the playoff game? Absolutely,” former Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson told All Bengals. “We wanted it for Marvin, because he put his blood sweat and tears into it and we felt like his commitment and sacrifice were finally going to pay off. We wanted it for Mike Brown and the organization too because we knew how much it would mean to them. Losing that game was devastating.”

That roster was special, but it would soon transform and welcome new faces with veterans like Marvin Jones, Reggie Nelson, Andrew Whitworth, and Kevin Zeitler and Mohamad Sanu signing with other teams.

Boyd is one of the few connections left. Though he wasn’t around in 2015, he spent enough time around key players from that roster to grasp the AFC Wildcard hangover, and the brand of football that was tied to the Bengals-Steelers rivalry.

“I wasn’t a die hard Steelers fan outside of the Bengals-Steelers rivalry. Now that I’m with the Bengals I want to implement that and bring that type of energy, it’s time to take over the division.”

Boyd was a young leader waiting behind Pro Bowler A.J. Green, and learned a lot from the star receiver in his early years that he's carried with him into the new era of football that we are watching today.

“It helped a lot when I had A.J. (Green) because I just sat back and watched him pave the way and it was kind of easy for me with a guy like him in the locker room," Boyd said. "He was the best receiver in the whole league at that point. He wasn’t very vocal but the things that he was doing, just how he carried himself. He wasn’t going out and drinking or doing any of that. On days where they wanted to give him off days he still wanted to go out and do some type of work with us and that was something that I took to heart because there are a lot of guys around the league who are content when they know they are the best player and they want to take off days, but A.J. never wanted that and that kind of touched me because it showed how much he cared about winning and about how much he cared about his organization."

Winning would be hard to come by over the next five seasons. Year after year the Bengals didn't come close to qualifying for the playoffs, but Boyd showed unwavering faith in the Bengals.

He pushed through the dog days, through losing seasons, injuries, coaching changes and adversity.

“It feels great for me, because I’ve been through the thin and thick of this man," he said. "I’ve been a part of teams where we won two games, seven games, eight games, but never won those two extra games that would get us into the playoffs.

The 27-year old put the Bengals jersey on for five losing seasons. He finally saw his hard work come to fruition in the sixth year; with a 'C' on his jersey to signify his captain status with the team.

The Bengals are 10-6, they swept the Steelers and the Ravens and will host at least one playoff game at Paul Brown Stadium.

“I stuck it out, and rode it out with the team that I started with, helping them and bringing the other guys on board to get them where we wanted to get,” Boyd said. “It’s special for me, this is probably one of the most special moments I’ve had in a while now. I’m going to continue to cherish it and try to reach more goals.”

Knowing that a trip to the playoffs was in his future made it that much sweeter. As he and his teammates lit up celebratory cigars, he danced with HB Joe Mixon.

The star running back was also experiencing team success for the first time in a Bengals uniform. They were the last players to leave the building after beating the Chiefs and securing the AFC North title.

“The locker room was just filled with joy. For Mixon and me it was kind of understood that we were two of the longest guys playing and we’ve kind of got that chemistry with one another that I just want to be around you bro, like I care for you," Boyd said. "Like we’ve got a great relationship outside of football as well and to see a guy like him as well being with me… because you know the whole atmosphere is different now. “

Embracing this moment was easy for them. The doubts about the 2021 season never had a chance to penetrate the minds of the players on the roster.

“We were talking about how we knew that we were going to be in this position with the group of guys that we have," Boyd said. "From when Joe (Burrow) first came in we knew what type of quarterback he was from the moment he stepped in. We knew he was a franchise player and that he was going to be a top-5 quarterback, that’s how we felt.

"After we accomplished a small goal on our way to the Super Bowl, it just hit us."

Just over 31 years later to the day, the goal remains the same, to win a playoff game. Even with a new head coach in Zac Taylor, and a roster that has been almost entirely flipped, their sense of urgency to win a playoff game for the organization and for owner Mike Brown is surfacing once again.

“It would mean a lot for the fans, players, the coaches, and especially for the organization, and Mike Brown because he’s been here the longest obviously,” Boyd said. “For me, six years and never seeing the playoffs, I can’t even imagine the feeling of going out there and playing you know? So I definitely think it’s going to be the biggest thing for the city all year.”“

The 2021 team is very different from the 2015 team, but one of the biggest differences is health. The Bengals are hot, healthy, and playing meaningful football in January, and there is a strong belief around the organization, the fans, and the players that this will finally be the year that Cincinnati puts a stick of dynamite up the playoff drought wall, while they aim for more than a single postseason win.

As they say, health is wealth in the National Football League.

“It gives us that much more confidence knowing that we don’t have to do too much and overwhelm ourselves when we don’t have guys to fulfill their jobs,” Boyd said. “For us it’s still week-by-week football. We don’t have to think about much more than going out there and doing our own jobs, it gives us so much more confidence.”

Watch Elise's entire conversation with Boyd below and subscribe to our YouTube Channel here.

Make sure you bookmark All Bengals for the latest NFL news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!

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