Why are Bengals taking ball out of Joe Burrow’s hands when it matters most?

Why take the ball out of your best player’s hands?

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Down 20-6 in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s loss to the San Francisco 49ers, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow authored an epic comeback, throwing for two touchdowns over as many drives to force overtime.

He then hit the first drive of overtime and gunned his team into the redzone by throwing two completions of 20-plus yards. In total, he went 11-of-15 for 215 yards and two scores in the fourth quarter and overtime combined.

Once in the redzone, the Bengals ran it twice, took a sack and settled for a field goal.

It was a stunning showing from Bengals head coach Zac Taylor, who admitted after the game when asked about getting conservative and taking the ball out of Burrow’s hands, that the mistake is “one that will keep you up at night,” per Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic.

Indeed. And while admitting the mistake is great, Taylor has done this a few times this season now. One would be hard-pressed to find many teams, if any, that willingly take the ball out of a top-10 passer’s hands with the game on the line in the redzone. This even goes for younger quarterbacks, like Justin Herbert and the Chargers.

This wasn’t an isolated incident on Sunday, either. In the second half, the Bengals ran it two times in a row on three different drives and scored three points. On the three they didn’t, two scored touchdowns against a secondary missing two starting cornerbacks.

A general lack of aggressiveness against a beatable opponent was a theme in other key areas:

There are likely some outside factors that play into Taylor’s taking the ball out of Burrow’s hand. The offensive line wasn’t having the best night. They’re probably still worried about Burrow’s injured finger from last week, if not the reconstructed knee.

But with the game on the line and the AFC North — and fourth seed in the AFC — up for grabs? There’s no great excuse to take the ball out of a No. 1 pick’s hands.

It especially stings because when the 49ers got the ball in overtime after the Bengals settled for the field goal, they let Jimmy Garoppolo repeatedly rip it. He’s not a better player than Burrow, simply put, yet the 49ers gunned down the field and won the game on the road.

This is alarming for layered reasons. It’s not the first time Taylor has done this. It’s also something that is painfully obvious. Players are going to make mistakes, but it’s fair to expect a consistent philosophy, identity and strategy offensively — especially from a hyped coach of the Sean McVay tree.

Simply put, the Bengals don’t have the luxury of learning these lessons the hard way. Taylor’s in his third year as head coach and the playoffs are now much harder to make. It’d be acceptable to live and die by Burrow’s mistakes, it’s not ok to live and die by Taylor’s continued struggles as a play-caller.

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