Bengals, 0-2, confident ahead of duel against Commanders' "college offense"

Cam Taylor-Britt, Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals are 0-2, but are not letting the slow start get them down.

When Taylor-Britt discussed Cincinnati's Week 3 clash against rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders, she seemed to criticize Washington's offense.

“They don't force him (Daniels) too much. They keep it really simple for him. Good college offense. (Kliff) Kingsbury is the OC, so they move guys around here and there. They just keep it really simple for him,” Taylor-Britt told the Cincinnati press on Thursday about Daniels and the Commanders. “I've heard his passing rate is really high, but he only does some intermediate stuff, quick throws.”

This came a week after the cornerback expressed that he was not impressed with Kansas City Chiefs rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy, saying he could only “run straight.”

As for the Bengals' overall development, Burrow is optimistic.

“We have to focus on getting better every day through our practice and then go out there and accomplish our goals when it's our turn on Monday. The rest will fall into place. We're in a good spot. We've been here before. We're not panicking,” Burrow said Thursday. “We're focused on getting a win and getting better every day.”

Were the Chiefs lucky to beat the Bengals?

Burrow's point: The Bengals were actually 0-2 two seasons ago and managed to turn things around and reach the AFC Championship Game. That means this is the third straight season they've started 0-2. They missed the playoffs last season — although Burrow's season-ending wrist injury contributed to that result.

Cincinnati lost 16-10 at home in Week 1 to the New England Patriots — who have since lost two straight games, most recently 24-3 to the New York Jets — and then lost a grueling 26-25 road game to the Chiefs. In the last game, the Bengals were given a defensive pass interference penalty on fourth-and-16 with 40 seconds left in the fourth quarter, which helped the Chiefs get in position for kicker Harrison Butker to eventually make a 51-yard walk-off field goal.

In the Bengals' first two games, Taylor-Britt totaled one interception — which was an absurd one-handed catch — two passes defensed, and nine total tackles; Burrow totaled 422 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, zero interceptions, and a passer rating of 95.8, completing 67.7% of his passes.

As for the rest of the AFC North, the Baltimore Ravens are also 0-2, while the Cleveland Browns are 1-1; the Pittsburgh Steelers are in first place at 2-0.

Following Cincinnati's Week 3 game against Washington, the team will play a road game against the Carolina Panthers (1 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app), the first AFC North game at home against the Ravens and a road game against the New York Giants. All three opponents are winless.

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