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Tyler Boyd isn’t happy with his lack of targets vs. Raiders

The Bengals WR had some choice comments after the loss to Oakland.

Tyler Boyd isn’t thrilled coming out of Sunday’s loss.

The No. 1 wideout for the Cincinnati Bengals was oddly not part of the gameplan often. Zac Taylor’s attack in the seven-point loss doled out four or more targets to four different players.

Boyd wasn’t one of those.

“I feel like I’m a game-changer and I can use my talents any way that comes my way,” Boyd said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “They were playing a lot of zone coverage. I felt like I should have the opportunities in the red zone, especially that second-to-last-drive.”

Now, Boyd isn’t the type to cause a ruckus. He’s a quiet leader and like anyone else on the team, he’s had some down games this season.

But Sunday’s debacle was strange. The Raiders entered the game with one of the NFL’s worst pass defenses statistically. Ryan Finley attempted 31 passes and only three of those went to Boyd. He also completed just 13 overall for 115 yards.

Most notably, a key fourth-down target late in the game went to Damion Willis. Not Boyd, or even two of the tight ends or running backs, but Willis, who had just gotten called back up from the practice squad days earlier.

We’d be remiss not to mention Taylor’s play-calling has seemed spotty for most of the season. And while this isn’t Boyd railing against his coach, he can’t ignore what everybody else knows — he should’ve been more involved in a close game.

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It’s even more official: Bengals are drafting a QB

Ryan Finley isn’t going to stop the Bengals from taking a QB at the top of the 2020 NFL draft.

Can the obvious become even more obvious?

Sure seems like it for an 0-10 Cincinnati Bengals team. These Bengals have been circled in red ink as a team drafting a quarterback near the top of the 2020 draft.

The coaching staff yanking the rug out from under longtime starter Andy Dalton seemed to potentially muddy this idea. If fourth-round rookie Ryan Finley could show hints of being a long-term solution, the Bengals could be free to pursue any position, meaning a shot at Chase Young.

So much for that.

In Sunday’s 17-10 loss to Oakland, Finley completed 13 of his 31 attempts for 115 yards with a lost fumble and a game-ending interception.

So no, the guy this coaching staff traded up to get after he was one of two quarterbacks to take pre-draft visits with the team isn’t the answer.

And before anyone screams — yes, two games is a small sample to use. And yes, Finley’s surroundings are worst-in-league status.

But the problems are very apparent. Before the draft, perhaps the biggest complaint about Finley was arm strength. He was throwing ducks in Oakland and should’ve had an interception go back for a touchdown just like the week prior. His other massive problem — age — is worth considering too. He’ll be 25 in December, so there’s no upside.

Over two games, Finley has thrown fort just 282 yards with one score and two picks over 61 attempts, good for a 47.5 completion percentage and average of 4.6 yards. The Raiders, by the way, ranked among the six teams giving up the most passing yards per game.

In a season where all sorts of unknowns like Gardner Minshew and Kyle Allen have put up passable football, Finley doesn’t look like he’ll join those ranks.

The Bengals should ride it out with Finley instead of going back to Dalton, of course. But Sunday was merely another affirmation the move has to be quarterback at the top of the 2020 draft.

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AFC North standings: Ravens resting easy at top after Week 11

The Ravens are miles ahead of everyone else in the AFC North standings after a Week 11 win and the debacle between the Steelers and Browns.

The Baltimore Ravens once again handled their business, defeating the Houston Texans in Week 11 handily. Though they were already at the top of the AFC North standings, the week wasn’t nearly as fun for the rest of the division.

It kicked off on Thursday night as the Cleveland Browns beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in a game marred by an ugly brawl at the end. Impact players from both teams are now suspended. Pittsburgh’s loss was already a huge deal, extending Baltimore’s lead in the AFC North standings. But with starters now missing time due to the fight, it’s going to make the next few weeks even tougher for both the Browns and Steelers, potentially putting them further in the hole.

The Bengals are officially out the running for the playoffs, losing to the Oakland Raiders to fall to 0-10.

Let’s take a look at the AFC North standings after Week 11.

AFC North standings:

Team Record Division Record Conference Record
Baltimore Ravens 8-2 3-1 6-2
Pittsburgh Steelers 5-5 1-2 4-3
Cleveland Browns 4-6 2-0 4-3
Cincinnati Bengals 0-10 0-3 0-6

The Ravens now hold a three-game lead over the Steelers for the top of the AFC North standings, a lead that is effectively 3.5 games thanks to a head-to-head tiebreaker. With just six games remaining, it would take a complete collapse by Baltimore to not hold the AFC North crown by Week 17.

The Ravens can clinch the division in Week 13 if the following things happen:

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Former Titans WR Rishard Matthews sounds off with thoughts on Colin Kaepernick

Former Tennessee Titans wide receiver Rishard Matthews hasn’t been shy about speaking on the team since he left it.

Former Tennessee Titans wide receiver Rishard Matthews hasn’t been shy about speaking on the team since he left it. He weighed in on the Marcus Mariota situation earlier this year, saying that ‘nobody wants to keep it real’ with the signal-caller.

Now, he’s taken the Instagram with his thoughts on a much more controversial quarterback in Colin Kaepernick.

In the post, he claims that the Titans had a hand in the collusion. He mentions the team specifically in his long-winded caption.

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Here’s a look at how the excerpt read.

“Another Fun fact: One of the 3yrs he was out Our QB kept getting hurt. And i suggested to both the GM & to the Head Coach separately in a face to face conversation that we should bring Kap in he’d be perfect for this offense. They both not knowing i had talked to one another had literally gave me the same exact answer. At those moments i knew they all collectively were keeping him away. We then signed TWO qbs that weren’t even of range of Kap. That also showed me that people are willing to lose then to present him with an opportunity. Taught me a lot about people, business, & overall just good & evil. I mean no preseason, no workouts, no nothing. For 3yrs.. Crazy”

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Matthews played with the Titans between 2017 and 2018, making 17 appearances for the team before ultimately being released. The incidents he speaks of could have taken place during that timeframe in which Mariota was dealing with injuries.

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It will be interesting to see if Kaepernick lands with a team after his Saturday workout, which the Titans did attend.

Titans select OL in first round of Draft Wire’s 2020 NFL mock draft

Many Tennessee Titans fans are concerned about the future of the quarterback position between now and the 2020 NFL season.

Many Tennessee Titans fans are concerned about the future of the quarterback position between now and the 2020 NFL season.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean the team will select a signal-caller in the first round come April, despite the fact both Ryan Tannehill and Marcus Mariota aren’t under contract for next season.

The Draft Wire’s latest mock draft has Tennessee picking at No. 16 overall, behind the Miami Dolphins and ahead of the Philadelphia Eagles.

It also has them selecting an offensive lineman instead of a signal-caller in Wisconsin’s Tyler Biadasz.

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The analysts at The Draft Network made note of Biadasz’s strengths in a recent analysis.

“Heart and soul of one of the best offensive fronts in the country (2017 and 2018),” it read. “Takes pride in executing assignments and completing tasks successfully. Shows the demeanor and nastiness in order to galvanize an entire group. Loves the process of battles. Fights and strains during every second of plays and displays the want to of playing through the conclusion of plays. Filled out frame in all portions, which are put to good use. Country strength is an easy term to use to describe just how overbearing his natural strength can be for interior defenders. When able to firmly grip and latch on, Biadasz makes it difficult for rushers to disengage from him. Punch timing and locations remained consistent and enables many winning repetitions.”

Obviously, he comes with a list of cons as well.

“Has a propensity of mixing up his approaches when blocking certain techniques,” the analysis read. “These various techniques lead to a mixture of different postures and stances with his lower half. Sometimes his base is too wide, while others it will be too narrow. Large reason why he finishes some plays on his knees or completely falling off balance to the ground.”

It will certainly be interesting to see which prospect, and which positional need the Titans choose to address next year.

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Quarterback is appealing with such a strong class filled with names like Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa, Jordan Love, Justin Herbert and others — but it’s also evident the Titans have more work to do within the offensive line to this point in the season.

Bengals match earliest a team has been eliminated from playoff contention since 2002

The Bengals have been eliminated from the playoffs.

The Cincinnati Bengals have officially been eliminated from playoff contention.

No shocker there — the 0-10 start means first-year head coach Zac Taylor has matched Dave Shula for the worst start in Bengals franchise history.

Funny in a dark sort of way, though, is the tweet above from ESPN. Not only are the Bengals mathematically out, they managed to do it faster than any other team since — and this is a notable part — “at least” 2002.

The latest stumble, a 17-10 loss in Oakland, showcased a decent defensive performance but brought up more questions about Taylor after his offense struggled again.

Taylor and Co. have fully embraced evaluation mode as the rebuild kicks into high gear. A soft-looking schedule could still produce one or two wins the rest of the way, but it was clear after the first month or so that the playoffs were off the table.

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Zac Taylor matches Dave Shula for worst start to season in Bengals history

Zac Taylor now holds some dubious Bengals history alongside Dave Shula.

The debut season has fully gone off the rails.

Zac Taylor arrived in Cincinnati as an inexperienced coach inheriting a somewhat talented roster, the plan to avoid a full-blown rebuild.

But the rebuild simply won’t be denied.

With the Bengals’ 17-10 loss to the Oakland Raiders on Sunday, Taylor has tied the worst start to a season in franchise history at 0-10. The only other coach to hold this mark is Dave Shula, who finished his tenure in the Queen City with a 19-52 record.

While the problems didn’t start with Taylor — the Bengals have now lost 12 in a row dating back to last season — he’s in trouble.

Fittingly, Taylor’s chance to avoid setting a dubious record comes in Week 12 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. But his first stab at taking down the team’s most sworn of rivals was a 27-3 stinker.

Also somewhat fittingly, it was Taylor’s offense that didn’t hold up its end of the bargain in Oakland.

Taylor’s defense did just fine, holding the Raiders to 17 points and less than 400 total yards despite more than 35 minutes of possession. There were problems, but it was overall the best defensive performance of the season.

Taylor’s offense, not so much. New starter Ryan Finley completed 13 of 31 attempts for 115 yards. He fumbled early and threw an interception to seal the game late. The ground game gained 7.9 yards per carry … but only ran it 22 times. As a whole, the offense sputtered to 246 total yards and a 3 of 13 mark on third down.

It isn’t all on Taylor. Injuries have ravaged the roster. The front office isn’t exactly helping in that department. He’s having to speak for an absent front office atop everything else.

But if asked to dial up what an overwhelmed first-year coach might do if he’s struggling, this is it. Taylor’s playcalling isn’t good. His talent usage — which included just three targets for Tyler Boyd in a game decided by seven points, to name one example — is questionable. At some point one would think it could trend in a positive direction. Even Miami is winning games.

These Bengals aren’t. And while Taylor might unfathomably steer an incredible long-term turnaround over the next few years, he’s fittingly right next to Shula so far in the early stages of his tenure in Cincinnati.

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Jaguars didn’t use RB Leonard Fournette properly ahead of matchup vs. Titans

But they’re not the only team in the league that has failed at times to use their most important rushers properly.

The Tennessee Titans have made some baffling decisions on offense this season — one of which was not giving the ball to running back Derrick Henry enough.

The Titans seem to have corrected that issue now, though, as Henry finished last week’s 35-32 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs with 188 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

But they’re not the only team in the league that has failed at times to use their most important rushers properly.

Just as the team did in its loss to the Houston Texans in London earlier this season, they hardly gave former LSU standout Leonard Fournette a chance to be a part of the ground attack — even though he should be the player at the heart of it.

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He finished out Sunday’s 33-13 divisional loss to the Indianapolis Colts with just eight carries for 23 rushing yards. Fournette also reeled in seven receptions for 34 yards, but didn’t account for a score.

This is curious, considering that Fournette is recognized as one of the league’s best rushers.

The fact he still finished as Jacksonville’s leading rusher at the end of the contest brings light to just how much their run game struggled, with Ryquell Armstead being the only other player to record a rushing attempt.

He had just one carry for six yards on the day.

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It will be interesting to see just how much of a workload the team gives him as they travel to Nissan Stadium to face the Tennessee Titans at 3:05 p.m. CT on Sunday.

Auden Tate sends message to fans, joins team on trip back after injury

The Bengals WR is in good spirits after a scary injury.

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Auden Tate will head back to the city with his team after Sunday’s game in Oakland.

The former seventh-round pick was stretchered off the field late in the fourth quarter after taking a scary hit that left him on his back surrounded by trainers for a lengthy amount of time.

But as seen from Tate’s tweet above, everything seems fine.

The team noted Tate was cleared to fly and did so wearing a neck brace. According to a report from NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, all tests came back negative. He’ll have further evaluation Monday but the developments so far are positive.

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Studs and duds after Bengals stumble to 0-10 vs. Raiders

Winners and losers from Bengals vs. Raiders in Week 11.

A valiant defensive effort from the Cincinnati Bengals mattered little in Sunday’s 17-10 loss at the hands of the Oakland Raiders.

The Bengals fall to 0-10 on the season after Zac Taylor’s offense could only muster 246 total yards. Ryan Finley threw for just 115 yards and took five sacks in the process, rendering a strong Joe Mixon performance also a moot point.

Here are the winners and losers coming out of the loss.

 

Stud: Joe Mixon

Nov 17, 2019; Oakland, CA, USA; Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon (28) runs with the football against the Oakland Raiders during the first quarter at the Oakland Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports

Mixon was one of the biggest winners last week thanks to his 100-yard performance. Turns out that was a sign of things to come — Mixon scored his first touchdown of the season in the first quarter and then gave the ball to his mother:

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The strong early showing was a sign of things to come, as Mixon finished with 15 carries for 86 yards (5.7 average).

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