Cam Taylor-Britt had a lot to say (again).
Cam Taylor-Britt could be forgiven for feeling himself a little bit this week. The Cincinnati Bengals didn't get a morale-boosting victory over the Kansas City Chiefs after faltering late, but the gifted cornerback backed up his trash talk during the week with an interception off Patrick Mahomes. He's not lacking confidence at the worst of times, so this will take him to a completely different stratosphere.
The Washington Commanders will be the next team looking to make Taylor-Britt eat his words during their Week 3 showdown on Monday Night Football. This is a must-win game for Cincinnati - who cannot afford to start the campaign 0-3 in its quest to make noise in the postseason once again.
Cam Taylor-Britt expecting simple strategy from the Commanders in Week 3
Washington doesn't boast the same ambitions right now. That's why the Bengals have all the pressure on their shoulders in front of their expectant fanbase. Taylor-Britt stoked the fire ahead of the clash, bashing offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury's scheme as something you'd see in college and trying to put an asterisk or two on Jayden Daniels' impressive start to life in the pros.
"He [Jayden Daniels] acts composed., They don't really make him do a lot. Keep things simple for him. Nice college offense. Kliff Kingsbury's the OC [offensive coordinator], so they'll move guys around here or there, but they just keep it real simple for him. I heard his pass percentage is very high but he's only throwing it short, some short routes and some intermediate stuff, you know, quick throws. Make sure we're on the outside winning our one-on-ones at the end of the day. Like I said, he can stretch the plays and extend them, so we've got to match that as well."
- Cam Taylor-Britt
Kingsbury shouldn't be criticized for easing Daniels into his rookie campaign. One only has to look at how other first and second-year quarterbacks around the league are struggling to see what complications could emerge. Things will open up as the campaign goes on. That might be with the entire NFL world watching on Monday night if the Commanders are chasing the game at any point.
If this is the general perception in Cincinnati's building, it's something Kingsbury can take advantage of. Scheming things differently and giving the Bengals a few surprises could result in some chunk play opportunities the home team doesn't see coming. Either way, this is decent bulletin board material Washington can use as a source of motivation.
It promises to be a fascinating contest. The Commanders can formally announce the new regime on a national stage at the expense of the Bengals. This will be the most difficult test of their campaign so far, so it'll be interesting to see how head coach Dan Quinn's squad measures up versus a team expected to make some playoff shakes in 2024.
Taylor-Britt isn't short of a soundbite or two in any game week. That shouldn't matter to the Commanders, who'll have a plan in place to nullify Cincinnati's threat en route to a potential victory that would rock the NFL to its foundations.
Time will tell on that one.
