MINNEAPOLIS _ The Bengals haven't been to U.S. Bank Stadium since old friends Marvin Lewis and Mike Zimmer met for the last time as head coaches eight years ago, when Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins were high school seniors in New Orleans and Oak Ridge.

But they were already assured of two things as they were one of 10 NFL teams looking to stay undefeated during Week 3.

The noise would be ridiculous, and stoic head coach Zac Taylor would be every-hair-in-place unruffled in a sea of static. As if this were another game of automatic quarterback in the Norman, Okla., cul-de-sac.

Truth be told, that's where he believes he picked up this ability to flatline it.

"My dad. A hundred percent," Taylor reflected days after last week's frenetic Paycor Stadium opener. "That's how he always led. Guys are looking for leadership at critical moments. If you're going to be up and down, how in the world do you expect the team to react?"

Sherwood Taylor, one of Barry Switzer's captains during Oklahoma's siege of the late '70s, is a coach himself. When he opted to return home and coach his kids, that meant in everything. Football, basketball, soccer, baseball.

His oldest isn't sure how much soccer and baseball his dad knew, but he was always there, calmly coaching whatever it was.

"That's just the philosophy I follow," Zac Taylor said. "It's genuine to me."

Take that monstrous fourth-and-three call on his own 15 with 2:45 left, down, 27-24. It got lost in everything else after Jake Browning’s 92-yard drive of redemption, but Taylor's guts were as big as any play in the victory.

Or gut.

"You would have heard about it if it hadn't worked, I promise you," Taylor said.

There were analytics screaming at him, a stadium awash in sound, a backup quarterback in the headset and the punt team about to take the field.

Gut or numbers?

"You don't have any time to think. There is a big gut part of it. To make a decision in two seconds," Taylor said.

Offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher and quarterbacks coach Brad Kragthorpe had made things easier for him. The third-and-10 snap was the play. Browning made a throw to tight end Drew Sample at the last instant to get seven yards and make it manageable.

The ensuing fourth-down pass to running back Chase Brown isolated running into the flat for 13 yards hadn't been pulled out of the ether.

"When they were previewing the drive and looking at the third down calls, here's one they really liked," Taylor said. "Give credit to Brad and Pitch what they had on the sheet … A big part of it is confidence in the coaching staff."

With some Sherwood Taylor cul-de-sac calm.

INACTIVE LIST

Injuries and circumstances dictated Zac Taylor making some adjustments to his weekly inactive list.

Second-year tight end Cam Grandy made his season debut, switching out with Tanner Hudson on the inactives. With starting cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt (hamstring) out, Marco Wilson also made his season debut. With defensive lineman Shemar Stewart (ankle) out, fellow rookie Howard Cross, a defensive tackle, made his NFL debut.

Wide receiver Jermaine Burton and defensive tackle McKinnley Jackson were inactives from the previous games.

Cornerback D.J. Turner tweaked his hamstring last week in practice, but went from questionable to active. He comes in tied for second in the league with passes defensed.

It was a rare 1 p.m. call for "National Window," Grandy. The big undrafted blocker from Illinois State came off the practice squad last season to make his NFL debut in the Thursday Night classic in Baltimore. Five of his eight games came in the national window last season, and Joe Burrow had no qualms rifling a completion to him on their first snap of the Denver must win.

Grandy's blocking M.O. could indicate how the Bengals want to attack Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores' multiple looks.

SLANTS AND SCREENS

The Bengals are looking to come out steady. Or, exactly how the Falcons didn't come out in the noise before they put up a 22-6 victory here last week. On their first second down, they had to call a timeout. On their first third down, they false started. On fourth down, they were called for delay of game, and still kicked a field goal …

The Bengals are ranked in the middle of the pack for NFL red zone defense, and it's saved them in both wins. They also like how they've limited explosives (the longest allowed pass is a 40-yarder) and their physicality in the run game, where they're ranked 10^th. They face an offense trying to find its footing inside the 20^, where the Vikes are ranked tied for 22^nd…

The Bengals went in gunning for their ninth 3-0 start in history. Six times they've gone to the playoffs …

In the land of the Black-and-Blue division, it looks like Taylor is priming for anything from a rock fight to a shootout. Not only is Grandy active, but he sent out his defensive captains for the coin toss, defensive tackle B.J. Hill, edge Trey Hendrickson, and linebacker Logan Wilson …

Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell, also with a backup quarterback, may have been looking for the same deal because he had the defensive starters announced.

In the seven-game winning streak stretching back to last season, Taylor had rolled offense with 9-1-5: Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins …

Defense could tie them for the longest regular-season win streak in club history with eight. The 1970 AFC Central champs won the last seven and the 1971 opener, the 2015 AFC Bengals started 8-0 and the 2022 AFC North Bengals won their last eight …