"We are a ton of guys who have won a lot of games at every level we've been at - so it's something we are not going to get used to"
Wednesday 30 October 2019 12:09, UK
The Cincinnati Bengals have played eight games this season, and lost them all.
First-year head coach Zac Taylor took his team to London hoping a change in scenery would perk them up - and for a while, it did. They fought back to tie 10-10 with the Los Angeles Rams with five minutes remaining in the first half at Wembley.
Then, Sean McVay cooked up a double-reverse flea-flicker, Bengals corner B.W. Webb slipped, and Rams wideout Cooper Kupp raced 65 yards for a touchdown. The Rams never looked back.
Cincinnati's 24-10 loss meant they moved to 0-8, matching their worst start since 2008, and on Tuesday, they benched long-time starter Andy Dalton in favour of fourth-round rookie Ryan Finley.
So what is it actually like to be part of a locker room that has become accustomed to defeat? After their Wembley defeat, some players spoke exclusively with Sky Sports about the season so far and what the future holds under coach Taylor...
Wide receiver AJ Green: "I've been around the league a long time. You just have to fight through it. There's only one team that will win the Super Bowl."
Wide receiver Tyler Boyd: "No. At the end of the day, I'm going to go out there and keep playing hard and never quitting because I'm a competitor. I'm going to continue to go out there and give it my all."
Wide receiver Alex Erickson: "No. We are a ton of guys who have won a lot of games at every level we've been at - so it's something we are not going to get used to. We are going to get through it and come out the other end better football players because of it."
Boyd: "You just have to be self-motivated. You have to trust yourself and believe in the guys in this room. We have to get the team to believe and to reunite as a whole group - sometimes it's just the offense going sometimes it's just the defense. Once we all get going in one game, then we will start rallying to wins."
Tight end Tyler Eifert: "The team has been through a lot together and you just have to continue to lean on your team-mates and expect them to have your back and and just keep grinding it out. That's really the only option.
"Obviously it hasn't gone as planned or how we would want it to but we're going to keep fighting and putting our best foot forward when we go out there."
Green: "He just brings a different energy. We might not have a great record but these guys are coming to battle every week and that's all you can ask for."
Boyd: "He's putting us in positions to win and to make plays. At the end of the day, we are the players, this is a player’s game, a player’s league so we have got to be the ones to go out there and execute assignments. Everything is on us."
Eifert: "I think just a positive energy that the guys gravitate to. They want to play for each other, they are not going to turn their backs, not going to have fights or point the finger and those types of things. Just staying a connected team and staying together."
Erickson: "The environment we are building, the accountability level has really increased and just the attention to detail the little things - not even all the things on the field. Stuff like being early to meetings and the way we handle ourselves in the weight room and in practice.
"I think the accountability has gone up a ton and we have really become a close-knit group. Those are things that help build championships. It doesn't happen overnight, it’s going to take time and we are seeing that now."
Erickson: "Offensively, be a physical unit. Run the ball, play action be a very versatile group that can do a lot of different things. So that’s our identity in that.
"As a team, I think it's going to be a connected group. We say it all the time: 'you've got to be connected', meaning we've got to be accountable to each other.
"We’ve got to be a unit that, when a bad play happens, the guys are there to pick the player up and no one is pointing fingers because this guy made a mistake and it's his fault we lost the game. No, there is none of that. As a collective group, we win together, we lose together and there's no finger-pointing."
Green: "I think for one, he is just holding everybody accountable - making sure everybody does their job and does it correctly."
The Bengals - who would receive the No 2 overall pick if the NFL Draft was held today - will have a bye this week, and return to host the Baltimore Ravens in Week 10 with rookie QB Finley making his debut.
Beating Baltimore will be a tough assignment but they do face the 1-6 Jets and 0-7 Dolphins in the second half of the season. Will they notch a win or two moving forward?
