CINCINNATI, OHIO – OCTOBER 25: Head coach Zac Taylor of the Cincinnati Bengals walks the sidelines in the game against the Cleveland Brownsat Paul Brown Stadium on October 25, 2020 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
Considering Zac Taylor had no idea when Minnesota Vikings center Garrett Bradbury was drafted, it’s amazing he actually called a weakness in Kirk Cousins’ game.
Taylor thought Bradbury was drafted in 2020, when he was actually selected out of Clemson in 2019. The Cincinnati Bengals’ coach is in a make it or break it year, as he needs to make some major strides with Joe Burrow and Co.
Vikings reporter Courtney Cronin revealed that Taylor pointed out how tough it would be for Bradbury to make out the snap count given he didn’t play in front of a crowd in his first season in the NFL. Unfortunately, that is wrong, as Bradbury had in fact played in front of NFL fans before.
Bengals: Zac Taylor was wrong, but it didn’t matter
Nonetheless, Taylor’s intel proved correct, as the Vikings did struggle with the center-quarterback exchange. Is all that on Bradbury? Surely not, as Cousins plays a role in the relationship as well.
Bradbury is receiving the blame, but Mike Zimmer defended him after the loss.
“He’s on bigger guys and sometimes that’s going to happen,” Zimmer said. “So we’ve got to do a little bit more with the guards to help him at times as well. He’s a powerful, athletic guy. Hopefully we don’t get in there where we have to throw the ball 49 times.”
Bradbury struggled to hold his ground against larger defenders, and that’s something he’ll have to fix moving forward, or else the Vikings’ hand will be forced.