Last week, the Cincinnati Bengals earned their first win of the season in an ugly game over the Carolina Panthers. In that game, Cincinnati gave up 102 rushing yards to Chuba Hubbard, saw Joe Burrow throw his first interception of the season, and also witnessed a blast from the past quarterback Andy Dalton put up impressive numbers. Suffice it to say that Cincinnati was hoping for more of a definitive win against one of the worst teams in the NFL.
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Even amongst all of those weak performances from last week, the obviously most alarming came in the form of starting cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt. Just two weeks after his incredible interception against Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was the talk of the NFL, Taylor-Britt put on certainly the worst game of his short NFL career. In the first quarter against Dalton and the Panthers, the young cornerback gave up five receptions on six targets for 84 yards and a touchdown pass to wide receiver Diontae Johnson.
HOLY 😱 What an INT by @CamTaylorBritt_!
📺: #CINvsKC on CBS/Paramount
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/f7r9MeCGIv— NFL (@NFL) September 15, 2024
While those numbers may seem rough, the most alarming part was just how lethargic Taylor-Britt appeared during that interval. The Nebraska product was incapable of sticking with defenders and on those five receptions, Taylor-Britt was rarely found within five yards of the wide receiver. The remarkably poor performance earned the Cincinnati defender an abysmal Pro Football Focus (PFF) overall score of 27.5 for the game and he was benched by defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo after the first possession.
After the game, Anarumo would say that although “he was erratic”, he would be sticking with his starting cornerback for the foreseeable future. That being said, he must have been furious with one of his best players to bench him after one poor possession. That indicates that Anarumo believed it was more a question of effort that he thought needed to be addressed in front of the whole team and that is also why this could end up being a larger problem as the season moves forward.
While Taylor-Britt struggled profusely to start the game, the other two outside cornerbacks D.J. Turner and Dax Hill both turned in solid performances in the victory. Taylor-Britt will presumably start this week given Anarumo’s stance but it is safe to say that the young defensive back will be given a short leash against a poor group of wide receivers for the Baltimore Ravens. If Taylor-Britt doesn’t have a solid game defending the likes of wide receivers Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman, look for the Cincinnati coaching staff to make the switch again but this time, the move might be permanent.
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