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In 2019 during Zac Taylor’s first stint as head coach, the Cincinnati Bengals went 0-8 on the road.
They followed that up with a 1-6-1 mark on the road in 2020, ultimately losing 15 road games in a row, tying another and not getting a road win under Taylor until Week 16, a December 27 win over Houston.
Fast forward to 2021 and the Bengals are 4-2 away from home, highlighted by marches into both Pittsburgh and Baltimore and stealing victories.
Taylor says that’s something that has been heavy on the mind of the organization and it’s a sign of his team’s maturity, per The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr.: “We have really matured. We lost 15 games in a row on the road. I don’t know if you remember that well, but I do.”
Maturity, culture or something else, the Bengals have it now away from Paul Brown Stadium. That was evident enough in Week 11, when the Bengals turned a 16-13 fourth-quarter lead into a 32-13 blowout of the Las Vegas Raiders in the latest away-from-home victory.
That one was impressive for many reasons. It was a 4 p.m. ET kickoff and a post-bye game, too — the Bengals had been 2-7 after the bye since 2012 before this year.
Funnily enough, big wins on the road should mean more fan support at home, something the Bengals could snowball into something special as this season continues.
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