'Put Us Behind The 8 Ball A Little Bit' - Joe Burrow, Zac Taylor Make Sense of Bengals 30-27 Loss to Steelers

Cincinnati is in the 2-1 mix of the AFC now.

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) checks in with head coach Zac Taylor between plays in the second quarter of the NFL Week 1 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Zac Taylor, Joe Burrow, and the Bengals couldn't stack a winning streak to start the 2026 season. A few turnovers did them in during a 30-27 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

One big one by punt returner Ke'Shawn Williams and a fumble by Burrow robbed Cincinnati of a 3-0 start. Add in a game filled with defensive players popping in and out of the lineup, and you got the recipe for an Aaron Rodgers renaissance (292 yards, three TDs).

"We were, I think, right at the 38, trying to go score and win, not trying to kick a field goal. We would have if we had to, but we were trying to go win the game right there," Taylor said after the game. "You look at their lineup; they got good players. They were going to find the rhythm at some point on offense. It's unfortunate it was today, but that's the way it went."

Burrow tossed three-plus touchdowns for the 30th time in his regular-season career, but it wasn't enough on a day when the Steelers averaged seven yards per play.

Burrow wants the offense to take more "ownership of their roles" when it comes to penalties, but overall he liked the performance from a 30-point day.

"I thought we were pretty dang good," Burrow noted. "We had a couple penalties that set us back. That we just can't have happen. Yeah, a couple things procedurally that we got to clean up that put us behind the eight ball a little bit, but overall I thought we were pretty good."

He knows they have to overcome the miscues. His fumble was an attempt to make something happen in the moment, but that went south as well. Cincinnati could've tied the game with another Evan McPherson field goal.

"That's part of the game. Guys are going to make mistakes, and got to try to overcome it. That's what great football teams do," Burrow said.

Taylor and the team now welcome a Jacksonville team also 2-1 with two blowout wins on its ledger, including a 35-6 rout of New England today.

"I think we have a chance to be great, but we got to go and prove it. We got to go and show it every day," Burrow said.

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