As the Cincinnati Bengals prepare for their 2025 preseason debut with the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday, head coach Zac Taylor has highlighted a major difference in his team.
But it’s simple.
“We just want to get off to a fast start,” Taylor told Kay Adams this week. “That has been a big emphasis on our season.”
The Bengals opened up the 2024-25 campaign with a 0-3 record and eventually missed the playoffs. They also fell in all three of their preseason games. Early performance matters, and Taylor is focused on a strong showing right out of the gate — a theme established before training camp.
How Bengals Practices Have Looked So Far
On Tuesday, Taylor made it a point to confirm that his first-team Bengals players will be available in preseason games.
“Bengals coach Zac Taylor tells reporters that QB Joe Burrow and other big name players will play several series on Thursday night and more in game two against the Commanders,” Ian Rapoport posted on X, formerly Twitter. “New way of doing it, with eyes on starting fast.”
Burrow looks fully prepared to unleash his throwing arm against the Eagles on Thursday. He’s taken every first-team snap in camp and is on track to start at least once or twice more in the preseason, after playing just 13 snaps in August 2024.
The Bengals will certainly be cautious of his workload over the three preseason appearances, but Taylor and his staff are taking deliberate steps to avoid any deja vu.
“Our first thing is a team meeting,” Taylor said. “We meet on the turf, we have some sort of competition to get everybody riled up .. We get on the field a lot quicker than we have in the past. So it’s been good, our guys have responded well and we’ll continue to do it for the rest of training camp.”
Benefits of Taylor’s ‘Fast Start’ Mantra
Being a “morning person” goes a long way for an NFL coach, and Taylor has embraced that. Not to mention, using it to his advantage when scheduling each day.
“The heat, you can avoid some of the heat,” Taylor said. “We’ll get back acclimated to that once we get close to the season. But we just had some really sharp practices. We put the install in the night before. Guys have all night to review it. They show up fresh the next day ready to roll.”
As the Bengals eye a serious return to the top of the AFC North, the message is clear: the climb starts now — not in October. After finishing 9-8 and missing the playoffs for the second straight season, Taylor is twisting a new knob.
The 42-year-old coach is 46-52-1 in six years with the Bengals, and he knows what’s expected now that Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins are all locked in to long-term contracts.
If Taylor’s plan holds throughout camp and the preseason, then it’s possible the Bengals show the NFL their true form to kick off the regular season when they face the Cleveland Browns on September 7.
Bengals HC Zac Taylor Reveals Key Training Camp Shift in 2025