INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Even after yet another painful loss in a season full of heartbreakers for Cincinnati , head coach Zac Taylor insisted his beleaguered Bengals can still make the playoffs. Taylor's Bengals (4-7) and their fans might be finding it increasingly hard to keep the faith after the Los Angeles Chargers delivered their latest gut punch.
Cincinnati lost 34-27 Sunday night after rallying back from a 21-point deficit in the second half, only to give up a dramatic 84-yard touchdown drive in the final minute. The Bengals have six losses by seven points or fewer this season, including two in a row. Taylor remained passionately optimistic about his team even after its flaw-filled performance at SoFi Stadium.
“This is sick, the way that these games are ending, and the way that we feel coming off the field every week, the feeling I’ve got when I’ve got to talk to the team in the locker room after all these endings,” Taylor said. “What I just keep telling the team is, ‘At some point, this has got to help us.’ At some point, we’ve got to find some momentum, and we’ve got to get on a run, and we’ve got to find ourselves in a good position where we reflect back.
We don’t ever want to use a loss for good, but it’s got to help us in some way.” Cincinnati is 4 1/2 games behind AFC North leader Pittsburgh (8-2). Nine AFC teams have better records than the Bengals as they head into their bye week.
Taylor repeatedly insisted he thinks his Bengals can .
