Bengals head coach Zac Taylor began prep for Sunday's Paycor Stadium game against the Lions (4:25 p.m.-Cincinnati’s FOX 19) endorsing quarterback Jake Browning.

The Bengals have scored 13 points in the last two games on the road after Browning came off the Paycor bench three weeks ago and generated 21 points in less than three quarters to lead the 31-27 win over the Jags.

"I don't," said Taylor Wednesday when asked if they need competition at quarterback.

"I've got a ton of confidence in Jake. I'm unwavering in that. I've seen the best of Jake," Taylor said before a late-afternoon walkthrough at the IEL Indoor Facility. "It's my job to help Jake and find ways to give our guys the best chance to help Jake … I think it's going to be nice playing at home. Being able to use our verbal cadence will allow us to do some things that maybe is a little more difficult to use on the road. Knowing you're going to be late with the play call and all that kind of stuff, getting to the line of scrimmage … Three points isn't good enough. Ten points isn't good enough. Our expectation is that we have to score a lot to take pressure off our defense, put pressure on the opponent. … And it really starts with me on offense, getting those guys in a rhythm."

Flag Review

Since Taylor became head coach in 2019, the Bengals have had the fewest penalties in the league. So it was with great interest that he studied the 11 flags they had Monday night in Denver, their second-most in a game on his watch.

"You've got to look at each one of them individually," Taylor said.

Some of the more costly were center Ted Karras' false start on fourth-and-two and the Bengals up 3-0, right tackle Amarius Mims’ misalignment costing them a first down on the Denver 14 when they were down 7-3 and two false starts on rookie left guard Dylan Fairchild.

"We've prided ourselves on being a disciplined team. There's been exceptions in the past where we haven't been, but I would say through and through we've been a very disciplined team," Taylor said. "Too many penalties on unforced stuff the other night.

"The false starts we can't have. We have to line up appropriately with our tackles. It's something every team is warned about every game. It's a big point of emphasis with the league right now. So those are things that are nothing to do with Denver. Nothing to do with Detroit. All things we have to do better at."

As for the call on Karras that the Bengals disputed in real time, that won't happen Sunday.

"That only comes up on the road. Sometimes that will be called, sometimes it won't," Taylor said.

Young Man Rivers

Rookie right guard Jalen Rivers earned his second NFL start Sunday after coming off his first one in good shape with the coaches. As tough as the Broncos' pass rush is at Mile High, the Lions' seventh-ranked run defense led by old friend DJ Reader won't be a soft touch.

Taylor went to great lengths to say there were no Pro Bowl efforts Monday night, but he liked what the 23-year-old Rivers did.

"In his first start on the road to Denver against that front, I was pleased with what Jalen did and I think he continued to build off of that," Taylor said. "And I really liked his demeanor throughout the game."

Demeanor is a big reason they took Rivers in the fifth round out of Miami. He impressed some of the veterans when he arrived in the spring with the bearing of a ten-year vet.

"There's a maturity to him, certainly, when you meet him, when you just watch him go about his business," Taylor said. "There's certainly a maturity to Jalen that you appreciate, that you feel like when you give him a coaching point or instruction, he's 'Okay, I got it.'

"It's not something you're going to have to remind him with his ability to self-correct when something doesn't go right. I think instead of giving him, 'Hey, this is what it should have been differently,' he can speak it very quickly on what he can do to better himself."

Slants and Screens

Starting cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt played only five snaps after getting beat on about 30 yards of YAC on a pair of third-and-shorts Monday night, and second-year man Josh Newton stepped in.

"(Taylor-Britt) dealt with a hamstring injury early last week, but I thought he came through everything OK. We've got some corners we can rely on, so we're not afraid to rotate those guys through," Taylor said. "We're just always trying to find the guys that are performing the best in the moment, and I felt like we had some good options there."

Defensive coordinator Al Golden said Taylor-Britt didn't have an entirely full week of work, but they need him Sunday.

"He had an illness on Thursday prior to practice. So he didn't rep like a normal game week for us. But we need to rep," Golden said before the walkthrough. "Starting today, we need him to go. We're counting on him. And then, obviously, he had some plays that he didn't love in the game. We need him to have a full week. Be clean, be healthy. And then have a productive week.

"I think the biggest thing is I have to be better. He has to be better. I have to put him in a better position. But obviously, we need to improve. And he's a big part of that. Cam's a very talented player. We need this to be a turning point. We need him to have a great week." …

Taylor doesn't know if rookie defensive lineman Shemar Stewart (ankle) can go after missing the last two games. On an estimated injury report issued before the walkthrough, Stewart was listed as out of the workout…

So was wide receiver/returner Charlie Jones after hurting his ankle in Denver …

It looks like tight end Noah Fant, who missed the trip to Denver with a concussion, is on the way back to Sunday. He was listed as limited …