Bengals' Cam Taylor-Britt Reacts to Benching, While Zac Taylor, Al Golden Outline Path Forward for Struggling CB

CINCINNATI – There were a lot of big – and bad – plays made by Cincinnati Bengals defenders Thursday night that contributed to the 33-31 victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers being such a wild ride.

But one of the biggest topics in Friday’s aftermath centered on a player who never left the sideline.

The Bengals not only benched cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt for Thursday’s game, they made him inactive as a healthy scratch for the first time since early in his rookie year.

Speaking at his locker Friday morning, Taylor-Britt said he wasn’t surprised by the decision.

But it was clear he wasn’t happy about it either.

Here was the initial exchange:

Q: What are your thoughts on it?

A: No thoughts. They’re gonna play me when they play me.”

Q: How do you think you’ll respond.

A: Head down. Play football.

Q: What hasn’t gone right that you’re hoping you can improve on?

A: Discipline. That’s the biggest thing.  To play cornerback, be disciplined.

Q: Where’s your confidence level?

A: I’ve still got my confidence, but confidence doesn’t matter if you’re not on the field.

Q: How did you take the news?

A: How anybody else would take it. Be pissed off, of course.

Taylor-Britt has had his struggles in recent games, giving up receptions, missing tackles and committing penalties.

But from the way Bengals head coach Zac Taylor and defensive coordinator Al Golden talked, it sounds as though Taylor-Britt’s issues are a product of what he is – or isn’t – doing on the days between games.

“Just be consistent,” Taylor said. “Consistency week-to-week, day-to-day."

Unlike the situation with linebacker Logan Wilson, which looks to be more of a permanent change to his and rookie Barrett Carter’s role, Taylor-Britt has a path to not only returning to the field, but getting back in the starting lineup.

"Of course, yeah,” Taylor said when asked about it. “He's talented, high energy, wants to do right. Just keep working at it."

Per Sport Radar, Taylor-Britt has been targeted 20 times this year and has allowed 15 receptions for 204 yards and three touchdowns.

Sunday at Green Bay, he had a defensive holding penalty in the end zone that was so obvious three officials threw their flags.

And Taylor-Britt’s missed tackle percentage of 26.7 is second worst on the team among players with at least 100 defensive snaps.

The only player with a worse percentage is the guy who placed him in Newton (33.3 percent), which shows Taylor-Britt’s issues go beyond tackling.

Golden said he wanted to keep his conversations with Taylor-Britt private, but he echoed Taylor in that there is not only a path for the cornerback to return to the field, but a desire to see it happen.

Both Golden and Taylor spoke about the decision to not start DJ Turner in the season opener and the way he responded to that.

“He said, ‘Bet. Hey, I’ll go out there, and I'm going to get it back,’” Taylor said. “And I said, ‘Great.’ And he said, ‘just promise me if I work at it, that I’ll have the opportunity.’  He's had the opportunity, and all he’s done is stand on his word.”

Turner had the defensive play of the night with his interception where he ripped the ball away from Pittsburgh wide receiver DK Metcalf. And he’s gone from not starting in Week 1 to leading the NFL in passes defended.

“The only thing I would say (in regard to Taylor-Britt) was we were kind of having the same conversation about DJ six, seven weeks ago,” Golden said. “And I would love nothing more for (Taylor-Britt) to respond and go on a great run here.

“I really enjoy being around Cam,” Golden continued. “I really want the best for him, and I really hope that he has an opportunity here to really turn the page and come out of this thing really, really good here over the next half of the season.”

Not only are the situations similar with Turner and Taylor-Britt, but their lockers are next to each other and their friendship runs deep.

Turner said he’s been talking to Taylor-Britt all week, trying to help him through things.

And Taylor-Britt returned the favor on the sideline Thursday night.

“His biggest thing is mental,” Turner said. “That's what I keep saying all the time. I try to do my best to help him get his mental kicking in. I love him to death, and he's gonna be good. You can't have a better teammate than him, honestly.

“(Thursday night) he acted like he was out there,” Turner added. “He was giving us so much energy, giving me pointers that he saw on the field, everything man.”

After Turner gave up a 39-yard reception to Metcalf on a third-and-11 on the opening drive of the game, Taylor-Britt had some advice.

Turner said he would keep that conversation private, but he admitted he started playing Metcalf differently after that. And the result was Metcalf catching two passes for 11 yards the rest of the game – and a Turner theft interception from the physical receiver’s grasp.

“He played lights out,” Taylor-Britt said of Turner. “For him to go out week to week and guard their No. 1 receiver, he’s doing great. He had a game last night.”

Taylor-Britt said he took a cue from Wilson after his demotion last week and wanted to be there not just for Newton, but for all of the cornerbacks.

And while he didn’t want to be on street clothes on the sideline, he thinks it is something that will benefit him, to see the game from a different perspective.

“I feel like any time that you’re not participating that you have time to grow and learn,” he said. “I always use those opportunities.

“At the end of the day, we’re playing football. We’ve been playing it our whole lives,” Taylor-Britt added. “I have to stop worrying about what everybody else things and just go play football.”

Of all the plays by Cincinnati Bengals defenders that made Thursday night’s 33-31 win against the Pittsburgh Steelers such a wild ride, a lot of co