The Cincinnati Bengals entered Monday night’s matchup against the Washington Commanders as 7.5 point favorites, despite starting the 2024 season with an (0-2) record.
Washington entered the matchup (1-1) after getting dominated by the Buccaneers in Week 1 and barely clinging on to a win in Week 2 over the Giants where the Commanders offense moved the ball all game, but couldn’t find the end zone once. Their kicker earned NFC Special Teams Player of The Week for his seven field goals that secured the NFC East, a new record for the Washington franchise.
Coming off a close 3-point loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, almost every talking head in sports media picked the Cincinnati Bengals to beat the Commanders on Monday Night Football. And while Joe Burrow and the Bengals offense was fantastic, finishing the night with 443 yards of total offense, no turnovers and never punting, Washington was better in the biggest moments.
Burrow finished the game 29-of-38 for 3 touchdowns, with 2 of them landing in the hands of WR Ja’Marr Chase, who has had a slow start to the year but finished the night with six grabs for 116 yards and the two scores.
But Washington Commanders’ rookie QB Jayden Daniels showed the nation why he was the No. 2 overall pick in April’s NFL Draft. The 2023 Heisman trophy winner was almost perfect as a passer, finishing the night 21-of-23 for 254 yards and two touchdowns, while setting a record for the highest completion percentage for a rookie in NFL history.
Daniels kept the Cincinnati Bengals defense guessing all night, using his ability to run as a major advantage,. The Commanders’ dual-threat QB added another 39 yards on 12 carries and a touchdown as a runner.
But until Monday night, Daniels hadn’t put much on film when it came to hitting deep passes in tight windows, missing on a few wide open shots in the first two weeks.
In Cincinnati, that changed in a major way. With 2:51 remaining until halftime, Daniels connected with Terry McLaurin on a perfectly thrown deep ball that landed in his WR’s arms in perfect stride as two defenders tried to catch up to make a play. The throw led to Washington finding the end zone and making it a 21-10 game.
Burrow and the Bengals would trade blows with Washington, but as the Commanders held a 5-point lead driving, they found themselves in a 3rd-and-7 situation with under four minutes left in the game. With a defender in his face and knocking him backwards, Daniels connected with McLaurin on a perfectly thrown 27-yard TD pass that sealed the victory for Washington.
Cincinnati Bengals HC Zac Taylor Blasts CB Cam Taylor-Britt For Calling Out Commanders Offense
Last week, Bengals starting CB Cam Taylor-Britt told reporters “they don’t make him do a lot” in reference to Daniels, who was the second overall pick in the 2024 draft.
“Nice college offense,” Taylor-Britt said. “(Kliff) Kingsbury is their (offensive coordinator) … (Daniels) is only throwing short routes, some intermediate stuff.”
Ironically, it was Taylor-Britt who McLaurin beat for the 55-yard bomb, but even after the game, the Cincinnati Bengals cornerback stood by his comments.
“I do not regret it,” he told reporters after the game. “But I didn’t mean anything malicious by that comment. It was made bigger than what it was. Yes, I can eat my words. But definitely we did take an ‘L’ today, as a team.”
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor had much stronger feelings about his defender’s statements and blasted him after the loss to Washington.
The Cincinnati Bengals head coach was asked specifically if he had an issue with Taylor-Britt’s comments and Taylor didn’t hold back.
#Bengals HC Zac Taylor says Cam Taylor-Britt shouldn’t have made the comments he did last week.
"We don't need to take shots like that. That team has not punted in two weeks."pic.twitter.com/cM0AVZvE2K https://t.co/gqt4p56Ddf
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 24, 2024
“We don’t need to take shots like that,” Taylor said. “That team hasn’t punted in two weeks. They have scored on every possession the last two weeks.”
