KEY POINTS

  • Zac Taylor shoulders the blame for their Super Bowl LVI loss
  • Joe Burrow was sacked 70 times, six in the Super Bowl, throughout the season
  • The Bengals will be having a ton of cap space and draft picks to play with in the offseason

The Cincinnati Bengals sustained a heartbreaking loss to the Los Angeles Rams at Super Bowl LVI, and head coach Zac Taylor opened up about the concerns surrounding his team’s offensive line following the announcement of his five-year extension.

“We just have to be better as a unit… I think that we'll just look to improve the team any way that we can and not specific to one necessary group. The offensive line helped us get to the Super Bowl. They gave us opportunities to go win the Super Bowl,” said Taylor in a virtual press conference.

The Bengals offensive line led by left tackle Jonah Williams (77.9 PFF grade) allowed star quarterback Joe Burrow to be sacked 51 times in the regular season, with Williams giving up eight sacks to the opposing team’s defense.

Left guard Quinton Spain performed second-best on the team according to Pro Football Focus with a 72.3 PFF grade, but the Bengals line suffered from weak protection from center Trey Hopkins (51.4 PFF grade) and sophomore right guard Hakeem Adenjii.

The Rams, led by defensive tackle Aaron Donald, exploited the Bengals’ shoddy offensive line to the tune of six sacks, pushing the sack count on Burrow to 70 for the entire season.

“Everything always falls on them statistically, but that's not always the case. There are play calls that could be better to help put them in a better position. There is a lot that plays into all that,” Taylor added while showing appreciation for his linemen.

Cincinnati had a golden opportunity to secure the Vince Lombardi trophy, but cornerback Eli Apple gave up a touchdown to Rams receiver and eventual Super Bowl LVI MVP Cooper Kupp with 1:29 remaining in the fourth quarter.

There is a silver lining to the Bengals season however.

They currently have around $48.7 million in cap space heading into the offseason (fourth-most in the league) with eight draft picks to address concerns in both the offensive and defensive lines.

Taylor and the Bengals have already experienced the atmosphere of playing in the Super Bowl and will surely be gunning for a second appearance next season, hopefully with a more improved roster.

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