Zac Taylor Explains Second-Down Decision on Bengals Final Drive Following Loss to Jets

Cincinnati just blew one of its best leads under Zac Taylor.

Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor looks for a flag after a pass attempt to Tee Higgins in the fourth quarter of the NFL Week 7 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Pittsburgh Steelers at Paycor Stadium in downtown Cincinnati on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. The Bengals won, 33-31. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

CINCINNATI — What a flip for the Bengals on Sunday afternoon. Cincinnati led for nearly the entire game against New York until a quick drive ended late in the fourth quarter, and the Jets quickly took over the lead.

It put Cincinnati down 39-38 with less than two minutes to go. They got the ball to midfield, but Zac Taylor opted to run the ball a few yards on 2nd & 10, which quickly got snuffed out and then they didn't gain another yard.

They had already surprised the Jets with a run earlier on the drive and targeted Ja'Marr Chase just one time in those final moments (one throw away went his direction).

"The first-down play, I gotta jog my memory," Taylor said after the game. "Remember the second-down play, we had some success running in that situation. Obviously, it's not good when they're up in there and they jam it up on you, and then the third down didn't work. We just didn't get it going there."

Cincinnati is now 3-5 after the loss and firmly outside the AFC playoff race.

"It's still a long season, you know, this is gonna be a difficult season for a lot of teams, and so you just got to be in the thick of it, give yourself an opportunity," Taylor stated. "This is one that we had right in our grasp, and that's the, that's the disappointing part about it. We were right there. We had this. And so anytime you got a game like that that you can do, and we got to get away from us, it was frustrating."

Cincinnati had entered halftime 12-0 under Taylor when leading by 11 points at that point in any game. They were 136-17 all-time when leading by 11 at half.

It's a brutal collapse with Trey Hendrickson injured again after a cheap shot by a Jets offensive lineman. They will try to beef up what is arguably the league's worst defense ahead of facing the Bears at home this weekend.

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