Tennessee, in its first season under former Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan, already has been eliminated from playoff contention, while Cincinnati technically hangs on to a miniscule chance of making it. The Bengals are focused on closing out strong and finding out who will be a part of next year’s rebuild.
“It’s an opportunity for the world to see we’re going to keep fighting, so when the Bengals walk on the field, you’re going to get our best shot,” Taylor said. “Happy that we got a win, but it’s a short week. We’re certainly not going to overlook the team we’re about to play. I have a lot of respect for Tennessee, so we have to turn the page very quickly and get ready for these guys.”
Callahan knows the Bengals about as well as anyone after being a part of Taylor’s staff for his first five seasons, and Taylor leaned on him for a lot of ideas in their time together.
The project with Tennessee has been a challenging one so far for Callahan and his staff, which also includes his father, offensive line coach Bill Callahan, and former Bengals assistant Colt Anderson as special teams coordinator.
Turnovers have been a problem for the Titans’ offense, which is putting up 17.5 points per game and 295.4 yards — with only two NFL teams scoring fewer points and three producing more yards this season.
Will Levis missed three games in October with a sprained AC joint but has been back for the past five games, as Tennessee won just one of those against Houston on Nov. 24.
Levis, the team’s second-round draft pick in 2023, appeared to re-aggravate his throwing shoulder Sunday in a 10-6 loss to Jacksonville but finished the game. He has thrown for 1,827 yards on 63.6 percent passing completions and 12 touchdowns with nine interceptions in 10 games. He had similar numbers in nine starts last year but improved his completion rate by five percent and only had four interceptions as a rookie.
The Bengals will see another familiar face on Tennessee’s offense with Tyler Boyd joining Callahan’s first roster as a free agent this offseason; however, he only has 317 yards receiving on 33 catches and no touchdowns. Calvin Ridley leads Tennessee’s receivers with 738 yards and three touchdowns on 50 catches, and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine adds 384 yards and eight touchdowns on 21 receptions.
Tony Pollard accounts for 937 yards rushing and four touchdowns on 213 carries.
On the other side of the ball, Tennessee has given up a lot of points this season, surrendering 26.3 points per game, but ranks second in yards allowed (291.8). Callahan will have some pointers for defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson after having led Joe Burrow and the Bengals offense.
Outside linebackers Harold Landy and Arden Key lead the Titans’ pass rush with 7.0 and 6.5 sacks, respectively, and defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons adds 4.0 sacks but is capable of wreaking havoc from the interior. He sacked Burrow three times in their playoff matchup at the end of the 2021 season when the Bengals continued their run to the Super Bowl, and that game played a role in the offensive line overhaul that offseason. Since then, Simmons has just a half-sack in three matchups with Cincinnati.
Safety Amani Hooker leads the defensive backs with four interceptions and two forced fumbles. Linebacker Kenneth Murray has 86 tackles, an interception, 3.5 sacks and one forced fumble.
Cincinnati will be looking to continue its impressive performances on offense with the hope the defense can build off an improved showing Monday.
“I’m just so proud of our guys for sticking together, you know, through a lot of adversity over the last month,” Taylor said. “We hadn’t had this feeling in a while, so we’re gonna enjoy it for the four hours we get to enjoy it before we get back to work tomorrow to get ready for Tennessee. But again, proud of the guys, the way they’ve responded with every practice, every rep, every meeting. It’s been like a team that’s in the mix, in the hunt.”
SUNDAY’S GAME
Bengals at Titans, 1 p.m., FOX, 700, 1530, 102.7, 104.7
About the Author