Tag: Tyler Boyd

Joe Burrow, Bengals out fast against Falcons

Joe Burrow and the Bengals took off against the Falcons

Joe Burrow was on target early for the Cincinnati Bengals as they played host to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.

The quarterback was 3-for-3 for 78 of the 84 yards on an opening scoring drive by the Bengals.

The big play was a 60-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Boyd.

After the PAT, the Bengals was soarings over the Falcons, 7-0.

Burrow specializes in the deep ball.

Prince’s NFL Player Props: Leonard Fournette, Breece Hall and more Week 7 prop picks

NFL Week 7 player prop bets.

Welcome back to Prince’s Props, and this week is apparently the receiving edition because five of my six prop picks are on receiving yardage overs or unders.

While this hyper-focus on Week 7 receiving wasn’t intentional, it’s hopefully a welcomed change, because Week 6 was another rough week of picks in a season full of them.

I went 2-4 once again, an improvement over the “down” previous week but mostly just status quo for 2022. However, I did go 1-for-1 on receiving yards props — Gabe Davis had over 57.5 yards against the Chiefs — so maybe that’s a sign of good things to come?

Week 6: 2-4

2022 record: 10-25

Bengals reveal key to fixing offense: Feed Tyler Boyd

The Bengals think 83 is the solution.

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tyler Boyd is the key to all of the team’s offensive woes.

Or so says Bengals head coach Zac Taylor and pretty much anyone in the team’s orbit who gets a microphone shoved in their face.

It’s not hard to see why, either. Boyd has just 15 catches on 23 targets over five games, the lowest work rate he’s seen since his first two seasons in the league.

And during a loss to the Ravens in which Tee Higgins re-injured an ankle, Boyd saw just four targets, catching three for 32 yards.

Bengals coaches know this has to change.

“That’s something we need to do,” Taylor said, according to Jay Morrison of The Athletic. “He’s a key part of this offense. He does everything we ask him to do. That’s in the run and pass games and asking him to make key blocks. Overall, my confidence in TB hasn’t changed. The production hasn’t been there because we haven’t given him the opportunities to have the production. Certainly he’s got to be a big part of what we do because he’s a premier player and one of the best slots in the league.”

Boyd has averaged roughly seven targets per game throughout his career before dipping below five this year.

Against the Ravens, it seemed the injury to Higgins actually worked against Boyd, as the team then put Ja’Marr Chase in the slot often in an effort to create mismatches. It sounds fine on paper, but it’s taking one of the best slot wideouts in the game out of position or off the field and ultimately making him ineffective.

The coaching staff’s goal, then, is finding a balance. Boyd has been more productive with lesser and even backup quarterbacks. If nothing else, it’s a good problem for the Bengals to have — provided they actually figure it out.

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Saints could be without top CB Marshon Lattimore vs. Bengals after Week 5 injury

The Saints could be without top CB Marshon Lattimore vs. the Bengals after a Week 5 injury, further complicating their banged-up secondary:

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All of these injuries in the secondary have the New Orleans Saints flirting with disaster. Cornerback Marshon Lattimore exited Sunday’s win over the Seattle Seahawks with an abdomen injury suffered when he tried to help defend a touchdown pass in his own end zone targeting another player. Iinstead, the pass was completed for a score and he fell in a pile with several others. The team initially said Lattimore was questionable to return, but didn’t clear him to get back in the game.

On Monday, Saints coach Dennis Allen acknowledged that they could be without Lattimore in Week 6’s home game with the Cincinnati Bengals. It all hinges on how his body responds to treatment over the next few days.

“He’s going to be okay,” Allen said, echoing his past comments on running back Alvin Kamara, who missed two of the next three games after Allen’s previous reassurances. Allen continued, “We’ll just have to see how he responds this week in terms of his availability.”

That’s not exactly encouraging, but at least Lattimore’s season isn’t over. Their top corner has played exceedingly well this season. He’s only come up small in one matchup during Week 4’s loss in London to the Minnesota Vikings — and his primary opponent in that game, Justin Jefferson, is arguably the best receiver in pro football. There’s no shame in that. What’s important is that Lattimore has dominated four of his five games so far.

And what’s more important is how big his loss would be against Cincinnati. The Bengals lean hard on their three-deep receiving rotation of Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Tyler Boyd (though Higgins is managing an ankle injury), and having Lattimore go against Chase would be the easiest path towards slowing him down. If he can’t go on Sunday, the Saints would be starting Paulson Adebo and Bradley Roby outside with Justin Evans covering the slot. Well, if Evans isn’t filling in for Marcus Maye at safety. If Maye misses his fourth consecutive game, veteran slot corner Chris Harris Jr. is likely called up from the practice squad again. Injuries have hit the Saints defensive backs hard this year. Let’s see how they respond.

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Joe Burrow, Tyler Boyd connect on 56-yard TD for Bengals

Joe Burrow and Tyler Boyd have the Bengals humming

Joe Burrow has been on-target Sunday as the Cincinnati Bengals look for their first win against the New York Jets.

Burrow found Tyler Boyd over the middle with a short pass and some shoddy Jets tackling turned it into a 56-yard scoring play.

After the PAT, the Bengals led 14-6 in the second quarter.

Earlier, Sauce Gardner showed how to cover Ja’Marr Chase.

Minkah Fitzpatrick recalls Tyler Boyd’s Steelers quitting comments from last year

The Steelers star remembers certain comments from Tyler Boyd last season.

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Last season, Cincinnati Bengals players made some off-handed comments about the Pittsburgh Steelers quitting toward the end of a contest.

It was a rather fair thing to say given the happenings on the field itself during a massive blowout. But obviously, some Steelers players just haven’t forgotten those comments.

Not only that, Steelers players are still using it for motivation as both teams prep for Week 1.

Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, when asked, said he didn’t just up and forget the comments: “And then the certain remarks that were said after the first game there, I also pay attention to, sure. So you think about it, let it really resonate in the back of your mind. I’m not necessarily dwelling on it but I’m going to remember.”

Tyler Boyd’s comments at the time, for context: “The last plays of the game, they gave up. You could see that. For a team to lay down like that
 we’re not giving up. They portrayed it to the whole nation
 To go in there and bully them..”

So yes, it’s easy to see why Steelers players might find a little motivation in that statement, no matter how long ago it happened.

And if nothing else, it just makes things a little spicer for an AFC North showdown in the season opener.

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Bengals’ Tyler Boyd looking forward to Week 1 showdown with Steelers

It’s Steelers Week for Bengals WR Tyler Boyd.

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Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tyler Boyd is one of the most seasoned Steelers Week veterans in the locker room for his team.

He also hails from the Pittsburgh area and played college football there, so when he speaks on the hype for a particular Steelers Week, it tends to mean something.

And reporters astutely pointed out to Boyd that this Week 1 matchup will be the first time the heated rivals have opened the season against each other.

“That’s the only thing that’s new in my career,” Boyd said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “It’s going to be huge. Any battle in the division is huge. But with that Steeler energy, it’s going to be a special day.”

Boyd also pointed out this will be the first time without a certain Big Ben in the fray.

“You look at Ben, he’s a Hall-of-Famer. Whenever you’re going against any Hall of Fame quarterback, you have to be dialed in,” Boyd said. “You have to take advantage of every drive because of what he can do on offense. They still have great players” said Boyd, well aware there’s a Pitt rookie in the wings even if it’s not on Sunday.

No Big Ben or not, the Bengals were always going to feel some added pressure going into Week 1 against the Steelers. It’s not just an all-important AFC North game — it’s a chance to remain the dominant force in the rivalry after years of struggling in it.

The differing state of the franchises right now, at least, would explain why the Bengals are big favorites.

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Bengals receivers disdain Browns corners; Ward, Newsome respond

Bengals say it is “on sight” when they see Browns corners, Ward and Newsome respond. They could have referenced the Browns four straight victories over the Bengals as well:

The Cleveland Browns may have rivalries in name with teams in the AFC North but their decade-long struggles have minimized the rivalries on the field. The playoff victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers was a fun start to try to revive that long-storied rivalry but both teams have new quarterbacks since then.

The team ripped from the heart of Cleveland by Art Modell has dominated the team that replaced them but the Baltimore Ravens suffered through many injuries last year but still swept the Browns.

It is the Cincinnati Bengals that Cleveland has had more recent success against including last year. Despite the Bengals making the Super Bowl, the answer to the question “Who Dey (think gonna beat them Bengals)?” was the Browns. The 41-16 and 21-16 victories weren’t enough for Cleveland to make the playoffs but the wins made an impact.

The last time Cincinnati beat their in-state rival was Week 17 of the 2019 season. The last time the Browns lost at home to the Bengals was Week 4 of the 2017 season.

Cincinnati’s receivers are particularly focused on facing Cleveland’s cornerbacks:

Denzel Ward took notes and responded on Instagram (as recorded below):

Second-year corner Greg Newsome II, who was mentioned in the video above, also took note of the comments:

 

The Bengals have a talented trio of receivers in Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd. Unfortunately for Cincinnati, that receiver talent hasn’t led to victories over Cleveland very often recently.

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Tyler Boyd impressed with new arrival Hayden Hurst at Bengals training camp

The team’s new tight end has caught the eye of veterans.

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Hayden Hurst’s arrival with the Cincinnati Bengals was a quiet one.

He just might not be quiet for long.

Hurst was almost an afterthought of an addition initially, at least compared to the public reaction to the Bengals losing C.J. Uzomah in free agency. But now that the proverbial dust has settled on the position the idea he could outperform Uzomah’s stats output has started to make the rounds.

And part of it is because of how natural Hurst looks as part of the offense during practice — just ask star wideout Tyler Boyd.

“I was shocked how smooth he was getting in and out of his breaks,” Boyd said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “Once he gets fundamentally sound in the offense, I think that’s when we’ll see him explode.”

Big praise from Boyd, the king of cuts, breaks and smooth routes from the slot.

While Hurst was sidelined in the passing attacks of his last two stops after being a first-round pick, he’ll have the benefit in Cincinnati of being the first target Joe Burrow looks at after the big three at wideout — which should mean favorable matchups.

If Boyd’s right about what he’s seeing from his new teammate early, it might just add another dimension to the offense.

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The NFL’s top 11 slot receivers

Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar continues our position lists with the NFL’s 11 best slot receivers.

In the 2021 season, per Sports Info Solutions, NFL teams targeted their slot receivers on 39.7% of all passing attempts (7,496 of 18,881). 43.1% of all  catches (5,481 of 12,731) came from the slot, as well as 35.6% of all receiving yards (49.737 of 139,619), 51.7% of all yards after the catch (35,567 of 68,802), 49.7% of all yards after contact (12,025 of 24,176), and 36% of all passing touchdowns (320 of 889).

The point? Slot receivers are more important than they’ve ever been before. As the NFL moves to more and more 3×1 formations, offenses don’t just rely on one slot receiver — there are now multiple slot weapons per team, serving different roles. Whether those slot targets are smaller receivers, bigger receivers, running backs, or tight ends, if you’re not attacking opposing defenses (which are trending far more to nickel and dime sets to counter all this), you’re not doing the most you can do as a play-designer.

If the first thing you thought after reading this was, “I bet the Seahawks don’t do enough to attack opposing defenses in the slot,” you would be correct. Seattle had the NFL’s fewest slot targets by far in the 2021 season, with 164. The Vikings, 49ers, Bills, and Saints rounded out the bottom five.

As for the top five, the Buccaneers ranked first in slot targets with 347, followed by the Chiefs, Raiders, Falcons, and Dolphins. As we’re about to discuss, the Dolphins appear to be in place to set an all-time record for slot targets heading into the 2022 season.

The top five receivers in slot targets last season were about as different as you could imagine. From top-tier receivers with both volume and production (Cooper Kupp), to high-volume receivers with limited production (Cole Beasley), to amazing tight ends (Mark Andrews) to uber-fast YAC monsters who create undefendable formations with their presence (Tyreek Hill) to underrated slot technicians (Tyler Boyd), there isn’t one type of slot weapon. It takes all kinds, in all kinds of offenses, to lay waste to coverage with slot concepts.

Here are Touchdown Wire’s 11 best slot receivers, regardless of position, and all our other position lists to date, which will lead up to Touchdown Wire’s top 101 players in the NFL today.

The NFL’s top 13 safeties

The NFL’s top 12 slot defenders

The NFL’s top 12 outside cornerbacks

The NFL’s top 11 linebackers

The NFL’s top 11 edge defenders

The NFL’s top 12 interior defensive linemen

The NFL’s top 12 centers

The NFL’s top 11 offensive guards

The NFL’s top 12 offensive tackles

The NFL’s top 12 tight ends