Zac Taylor: It’s sick the way these games end

With Sunday’s loss to the Chargers, the Bengals fall to 4-7 on the year, with six of the losses coming by one possession.

That stuck with Cincinnati head coach Zac Taylor, who said in his postgame press conference that he can’t explain how some of those losses have happened.

“I wish I could. This is a team that we believe in, a team that believes in each other,” Taylor said. “It’s sick the way these games end and the way we feel coming from the pitch every week – the feeling I have when I have to talk to the team in the dressing room after these finishes this year.

“What I just keep telling the team is that at some point this is going to help us. At some point we’ve got to find some momentum and we’ve got to make a run and we’ve got to find ourselves in a position where we’re going to reflect back … We’ve just got to find a way to finish. I keep saying it, and of course we’re one game away every time I say it .But I still have confidence that we can get this done.”

Taylor added that he doesn’t think the club needs to make any changes because “we see it just comes down to one play in each game.”

“We believe in what we’re doing,” Taylor said. “And so, again, we’re not going to be the people who just panic because the record is 4-7 and we start making all these significant changes. That’s not what the answer is. We’ve been playing good football. We’re a good football team. We’ve got good systems in place. And we’re going to hang in there and find a way to get this done. It’s going to be one really good season.

“Again, it’s not — so far — what we would have written for ourselves, but I’m telling you, I stand here today with the utmost faith that we can still get this done in the back half of our schedule. “

But at 4-7 and with a host of competitive teams in the AFC, do the Bengals have a realistic shot at the postseason?

“Yeah, I’m not just saying that to convince others,” Taylor said. “I mean, I’m saying what I believe right now. When you see this team compete, the guys that we have, the coaches that we have — I love going to work every single day. It’s not something you dread at 4-7, and you don’t want to be around these people. It’s the opposite, because I can see that there can still be something special. And again, people might not believe it – and that’s okay I.

“But I’ve seen this group do some really good things before, and I still believe we can turn this thing around and do it.”

The Bengals will have a bye in Week 12 before facing the Steelers at home in Week 13.