Zac Taylor: Bengals' Super Bowl Loss To Rams Will 'Always Linger'
The Los Angeles Rams are set to square off against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night for the first time since Super Bowl LVI.
The Rams prevailed, and head coach Sean McVay said the organization doesn't "talk about that much" ahead of the first head-to-head meeting since Feb. 13, 2022. Bengals head coach Zac Taylor mirrored McVay's thoughts about the game — somewhat.
"You try to move on from that one," Taylor told WKRC-TV. "We've played a lot of games since then, but that's one that will always linger."
Taylor and McVay both make great points: much of the rosters from that game are gone. However, those who were on the losing side may have some extra juice for revenge.
Taylor said the Rams have "great" players but highlighted two that the Bengals will need to contain Monday.
"It starts with the quarterback. It starts with Aaron Donald," Taylor said. "Those are two premier players in the league and two guys you're going to have to limit in this game."
Los Angeles has had one of the best passing attacks in the NFL to begin the season, as quarterback Matthew Stafford is third in the league behind Kirk Cousins and Tua Tagovailoa with 320.5 passing yards per game.
He has done so without Cooper Kupp, as wide receivers Puka Nacua and Tutu Atwell have really stepped up and earned their stripes as true NFL pass-catchers. Taylor said the Rams do a "great job" of "exploiting" defensive schemes and creating plays that help get their receivers open.
Taylor, who was an assistant under McVay in 2017-18, had no shortage of good things to say about Nacua, who is a game-time decision for Monday's matchup.
"As you go through all his targets, some of them, he's getting the ball in his hands pretty quickly," Taylor said. "He's an efficient player just like Cooper is in terms of his footwork and how he works his leverages, so he's a good player."
Los Angeles' game plan will be predicated on throwing the football, and the Bengals' head coach understands the challenge when facing a 15-year veteran like Stafford, who Taylor said still has "one of the strongest arms in the league."
"He's accurate. He's poised. He's very tough. He's not afraid to stand in there and take a hit when he knows it's coming," Taylor said. "He knows he's going to have a receiver pop open. Every throw is on the table when you get him. They can move the pocket. He can leave the pocket left and throw back across the field to the right, so you got to cover every single blade of grass and that's a real challenge when you play him."
