Way-too-early 2021 NFL Power Rankings: Rams, Packers, Chiefs chasing Buccaneers

The Cincinnati Bengals doubled their win total from the prior season as they went from 2-14 in Zac Taylor’s first season as the head coach to 4-11-1 in his second. In all, Taylor is now 6-25-1 with a winning percentage of just over 20 percent. Clearly, that’s not good enough and there were whispers that he could be in trouble after this past season.

While he hasn’t proven just yet that he’s going to be the guy long-term, keeping him around for 2021 was the right call. Not only did the team show improvement, but they also played the final six games without their star quarterback, Joe Burrow.

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft was great as a rookie, completing 65.3 percent of his passes for 2,688 yards with 13 touchdowns against just five picks. They were still just 2-7-1 with Burrow but he had them in nearly every contest as they had four of their seven losses decided by less than a touchdown. They were also improving down the stretch and might have pulled off more wins if Burrow were healthy.

Heading into 2021, they’re a team that could surprise as long as they accomplish two things. One is to get Burrow healthy and the other is to keep him from being beaten up by the opposing team. If they can manage that, they could take some big steps forward.