The Cincinnati Bengals may have started 0-2 for the third consecutive season, but cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt isn’t stopping his trash talk.
Last week, he criticized Kansas City Chiefs rookie wideout Xavier Worthy for only being able to run fast. The corner backed up his remarks with an absurd one-handed interception off of Patrick Mahomes while guarding Worthy in the third quarter. This week, as the Bengals prepare for the 1-1 Washington Commanders on Monday night, Taylor-Britt had some thoughts about their offense, which is led by rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels.
“Composed. They don’t make him do a lot. They keep it really simple for him,” Taylor-Britt said, via ESPN. “Nice college offense, Kingsbury, the OC, so they love to move guys around here and there, but just keep it real simple for him. I heard his pass percentage is very high, but he’s only throwing short routes, you know? Some intermediate stuff, quick throws.”
To his point, it’s pretty clear Washington’s new offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury is still attempting to mold the reigning Heisman Trophy winner. While Daniels is the first quarterback in NFL history to complete 75% of his passes, rush for 100 yards and throw zero interceptions in a two-game span, he has relied more on his ability as a runner, with two rushing touchdowns and zero passing scores. Daniels’ 132 rushing yards rank first among all rookies, and second among all quarterbacks.
While Taylor-Britt is implying the Commanders offense is not as sophisticated as your average NFL system, one “college” element Cincinnati’s defense will have to be ready for is the no-huddle. Washington has run 63 no-huddle plays, which rank most in the NFL. The Commanders ran no-huddle 37 times last week against the New York Giants, which were the most no-huddle plays by any team over the last two seasons. Kingsbury is clearly trying to keep defenses on their toes, and looking at our limited sample size, it’s working. Washington has averaged 6.4 yards per play going no-huddle, and 5.1 without.
