In what no doubt is foreshadowing for the rest of the offseason, defense dominated Bengals head coach Zac Taylor’s end-of-year news conference Monday at Paycor Stadium.
In the wake of the defense's solid eight-game run to finish the season, Taylor confirmed that defensive coordinator Al Golden and his staff returns for a second season. Taylor not only anticipates a smoother, quicker transition into the draft season with director of player personnel Duke Tobin's staff on that side of the ball, but also into the spring voluntary workouts with the players.
Golden, who didn't get hired until Jan. 23 after Notre Dame's loss to Ohio State in the national championship game, saw his unit hold foes to 17.8 points per game following the bye at the nine-game mark.
"Now you have a much cleaner operation where we got a chance, OK, we've coached these guys that are here. Where can we get better?" Taylor said. "That process is going to happen so much sooner to where we get with the scouting department and make all the decisions we've got to make on improving our team schematically and personnel-wise.
"It's going to help we've had this whole staff here together going into our second year on the defensive side of the ball. That helps every time we talk about personnel," Taylor said. "That's working with the scouts, working with Duke. Everyone has a better feel for each other."
Taylor noted the growth of a defense that in the final stretch was playing without their highest-paid player, injured NFL sack champion Trey Hendrickson, and rode the play of emerging edge rusher Myles Murphy, starting cornerbacks DJ Turner II and Dax Hill and safety Jordan Battle, who led all NFL defensive backs in tackles.
"More guys got opportunity and their reps increased," Taylor said of the Hendrickson injury. "I saw growth in their game. That really helped us. And so for me, you look at defensively some missed tackles, some missed opportunities early on, and then those guys kept playing. Young players kept playing. They kept improving over and over. And the game slowed down for them and their communication sped up.
"Their ability to create plays on the ball and create turnovers sped up. So you saw that evolution over time. That's what's encouraging to me. I saw the growth in that entire unit. Seeing the trajectory that they're on, I've got high expectations for that group moving forward."
The Bengals ended the season with 12 turnovers in the eight weeks after the bye, tied for third most in the league in that stretch.
Energy Supply
Free of last year's overhaul on defense and the knowledge all their skill players on offense are under contract for '26, Taylor felt a surge of optimism from a team he met with for the final time Monday morning.
"I just feel like we're on a path to really good things next year, and I think everybody that exited this building today feels that. Players, coaches, everybody involved with this thing," Taylor said. "This season was a disappointment, it didn't go the way we wanted. But I'm already re-energized to get working on 2026 and get back to work."
Right guard Dalton Risner, who impressively started the last seven games after signing a few days before the opener, is the only unsigned offensive starter.
"That's the truth of it. There's no real sugarcoating that. You've got a bunch of guys coming back," Taylor said. "It's exciting because you can focus your energy.
"I feel like we are in a tremendous position going into this offseason. Our expectations are going to be sky high and we are going to work like heck to meet those expectations. I think the players and coaches all see the direction we are headed. So there is a lot of positive energy heading into the offseason."
Joe Flacco Return?
It's hard to see quarterback Joe Flacco returning to back up Joe Burrow next season. Flacco, who turns 41 in 10 days, loves Burrow, Taylor and the scheme. But he wants to play.
But…. He also indicated he'll be more selective heading into year 19.
"For the last five, six years of my career, I don't want to say 'Quick,' but I definitely looked at a lot of situations as a good opportunity," Flacco said. "If a certain situation is actually a good opportunity, I'm probably at the point I had hoped there would be maybe something in my mind if I didn't really love it, I would be able to say no."
Taylor is hoping he just says, "No," and comes back.
"I would hope that he's back. But I would also respect him at the same time that he's got to make decisions for himself," Taylor said. "I think it'd be valuable. I think he's a starting quarterback in the NFL. I think anytime you've experienced that and you're able to get him back, that'd be great.
"I know that he enjoyed his time here. I think it was good for all of us to get to know each other. And we'll see what his future holds for him. He's got to make that decision. He's earned that as an old man. He's earned the right to decide what he wants to do. But I do know that he wants to keep playing. And I appreciate that about him."
Flacco certainly enjoyed playing with wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. And so did his kids as he walked out of Paycor with signed jerseys from them both.
"He's very special," Flacco said of Chase. "Out of respect to Tee, anytime I talk about Ja'Marr, I do feel the need to talk about him too, because they both are just special. They can change a game by themselves. Kind of like the guy we just played on defense (Browns edge Myles Garrett). How you have to game plan for him every single play, Ja'Marr does that for an offense."
How ironic that Flacco's last snap for the Bengals could be that third-and-one quarterback sneak on Sunday against the Browns when Taylor summoned him off the bench?
"It wasn't in the game plan," Flacco said. "Spur of the moment."
So was the longest run of his career, a 38-yard touchdown run off a broken play in his 2008 NFL debut against the Bengals.
New Theme
Taylor admitted that last year's daily offseason Fast Start theme is off the books given they went 2-0 only to finish 4-11. But given his news conference came 24 hours and 30 minutes after losing a lead in the final 72 seconds, finishing seems to be what he wants to attack.
Remember, they went into the bye with two deadly consecutive fourth-quarter defeats at Paycor. The Jets erupted for 23 points in the last quarter of a 39-38 win, and the Bears wiped out Flacco's two touchdown passes within a minute on their own 58-yard touchdown pass with 17 seconds left.
"That's the part that I'm excited to explore, is, how can we change how we about go about things in training camp, the offseason, to tighten that up because we didn't finish well enough to win these games," Taylor said. "I really think closing out games and finishing. However that looks like.
"Finishing the game on offense by possessing the ball, or finishing (with) points and ending the game, or the defense getting off the field in the two-minute drill. Special teams, making a play that changes the game and wins the game. You've got to be creative with that thinking over the course of the offseason and training camp."
Slants and Screens
Here's another theme. The crushing all-the way turnovers. The Bengals suffered five pick-sixes and four return touchdowns. That also still had an impact because both happened in Sunday's last game of the year.
"The last thing I left with the team is just the turnover differential," said Taylor, which was minus-3 for the year. "Where we lost games, we weren't good enough on either side of the ball and that was taking the ball away from teams in the games we lost, that was scoring points for the other team on our offense.
"We gave up nine touchdowns on our offense this year, so it's as simple as that when you look at some of these one-score games where we just didn't do enough just possessing the ball and taking the ball away. It was simple as that." …
First-round pick Shemar Stewart, coming off one of the best games of his career on the defensive line (three pressures, two hits of Shedeur Sanders, a tipped pass) has come to the end of this endless rookie season. Here's a guy who never missed a practice or game at Texas A&M but missed four games when he got to the pros with an ankle injury and another five with a knee injury. He thinks he knows why:
The offseason grind for college players going into the draft. That meant workouts for the NFL scouting combine, the combine itself, and then the visits to the teams, of which Stewart says he made 15 trips. Then the draft itself.
"Rookies don't really get a break," Stewart said. "Then you're right back into training camp, then the preseason, regular season. I just felt like this year my body gave up on me a little bit. I'm just trying to get back. My main focus in the offseason is getting back to the fundamentals." …
Left tackle and captain Orlando Brown Jr. took home the Good Guy Award from the Cincinnati chapter of the Pro Football Writers of America. He also won it when he was with the Ravens …
