"I've got a lot of faith in those guys," Taylor said of that re-stocked defense that played as advertised. "When you add guys like (Mike) Hilton, one of the best pressure nickels in the league. Vonn Bell can bring it. Jessie (Bates III) can bring it. All of the linebackers are very disciplined. So you feel good about that."
_Taylor not only mixed up his schemes, but he kept the Vikings guessing with two fourth-down calls. One won the game, but both sent a message.
Before Burrow hit tight end C.J. Uzomah on a 32-yard pass on a fourth-and-inches in the last minute of overtime, Taylor was being second-guessed from here to Norman for going for it from fourth-and-one from his own 30 late in the third quarter with a 14-point lead. The miss-fire put the Vikings back in the game, but his players heard him loud and clear.
"It's not my job to be surprised. It's my job to execute. We didn't get it done on that one, but luckily our defense pulled up there at the end," Burrow said of the first fourth. "They had their backs up against the wall. I don't think we win that game last year. I think that's the difference."
Here's another difference:
In nine games last season the Bengals allowed points in the last two minutes of the first half that always seemed to negate deferring the coin toss. But on Sunday they did the deed themselves with Burrow's 50-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase and took a 21-7 lead without Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins touching the ball when they cashed the second half's first drive on Mixon's two-yard touchdown run.
"It's something we talk about all the time. That's why you defer at the coin toss, because then you have a chance to get the ball twice without them having the ball," Burrow said. "That's what the Patriots have done for so long. They score before the (end of the first) half, and then they get the ball back (to begin the second half) and go down and score again. You get the opportunity to get two scores unanswered. So that was pretty big."
Everybody knew a game against Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer's defense was going to be ugly and grinding and Mixon appreciated how Taylor stuck with him. Until the Bengals could sort out Minnesota's new nuances, Mixon had just five carries for 14 yards in the first half after a first quarter they had 14 yards on 11 plays.
"In the first quarter, it was pretty much a run, pass, pass, run. I thought Zac did a great job with balancing out the run and the pass today because the play-action (plays) were hitting," Mixon said. "Even in the quick game with drop backs, receivers were getting open. For the run, it was basically completing the pass. I thought we did a hell of a job today. At the same time, the other runs were hitting, too. We had a variety of them. The linemen were blocking their asses off, everybody on the perimeter was blocking, and the tight ends were doing their thing, too. It was great."
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Bengals Take The Long View On Fourth-And-Short: 'Holding Back Nothing" - Bengals.com
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