Game Within The Game

Plus: Joe Burrow Underwent Successful Surgery [View In Browser]( [Bengals Blitz]( [Zac Taylor]( GAME WITHIN THE GAME: ZAC AND PRESS TAYLOR IN A BROTHERLY SHOVE The backyard games at all hours on Cynthia Circle in the NFL's most famous cul-de-sac come full circle under the blazing Monday night lights in Jacksonville when Bengals head coach Zac Taylor calls his X and then waits for younger brother Press to call his O as the Jaguars offensive coordinator. They have now coached something near a combined 400 NFL games. If you count last year's rollicking playoffs where Zac steered Joe Burrow to an easy win in the Buffalo snow while Press talked Trevor Lawrence through a 27-0 deficit to melt the Chargers in L.A. Among them are those four awkward games chiseled on their dad's "Bro Bowl," trophy after their teams have actually played each other. [READ MORE]( [Top Headlines]( [Joe Burrow]( JOE BURROW UNDERWENT SUCCESSFUL SURGERY Bengals Pro Bowl quarterback Joe Burrow's Road back began Monday with successful surgery to repair his wrist. The Bengals released a statement that said the surgery "went as planned," and that Burrow is "expected to make a complete recovery." "I've been through stuff like this before. It's nothing new," said Burrow last week. "It's football. Stuff like this happens. You just have to learn to live with it. I've talked a lot about leaning on your support system. I've got a great support system. Great friends, great family (to) help me get through it. Great teammates. I'll be around here. Not ideal, but I've got what it takes and the people around me got what it takes to get it done." [READ MORE]( BENGALS EYE 'WIDE-OPEN' AFC Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan got a few big-picture questions Monday after the Bengals fell to 5-6 heading into December without their quarterback. But with the AFC playoff picture still bottled up like I-75, he can't budge from next Monday night's game at AFC South-leading Jacksonville. With six games left, Callahan sees an opening for an outsider like the Bengals barging in at the last second when another team invariably folds. "It's going to be a wide-open run here at the end. I just think there's a lot of teams that play each other," said Callahan, knowing the Bengals play five of them. "The AFC is tight. There's going to be teams that lose games, and we just want to be in position. Put ourselves in position to have a chance. And that's our focus at this point." [READ MORE]( WILLIE ANDERSON MAKES FOURTH STRAIGHT HALL OF FAME SEMIFINALS Bengals Ring of Honor member Willie Anderson has made it to the Pro Football Hall of Fame semifinals for the fourth straight year on a list of 25 that has only one other offensive lineman. Anderson, who Pro Football Focus graded the best run protector of the last two decades, is looking to gain the finals for the third straight year when the list is cut to 15 next month. The final vote is held in a mid-January meeting of the board of selectors, where Bengals.com has the Cincinnati vote. The voters cut from a list of 173 that included Bengals all-time leading rusher Corey Dillon, all-time leading receiver Chad Johnson, 15-year NFL linebacker Takeo Spikes, and 2001 first-round draft pick Justin Smith. [READ MORE]( [Paul Brown Coaching Award]( TOM GRIPPA WINS PAUL BROWN COACHING AWARD Tom Grippa, the head football coach at Milford High School, is the 2023 season winner of the Paul Brown Excellence in Coaching Award. The Paul Brown Excellence in Coaching Award has been given annually by the Bengals since 2002. It honors outstanding high school football coaches in the region and includes a $10,000 Bengals donation to Milford High School's athletic department. The Bengals honored Grippa with an on-field recognition during Sunday's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Grippa completed his seventh season at the helm of the Milford football program in 2023. He led the Eagles to an 11-1 record, which included an Eastern Cincinnati Conference title and the school's first undefeated regular season since 1957. [READ MORE]( [Caresource]( [Social Spotlight]( [Social Spotlight]( [WATCH NOW]( ZAC TAYLOR PRESS CONFERENCE [Zac Taylor Press Conference]( [WATCH NOW]( [Bengals Booth Podcast]( BENGALS BOOTH PODCAST: O-o-h Child It's the "O-o-h Child" edition of the Bengals Booth Podcast as Cincinnati suffers a narrow loss to Pittsburgh in Jake Browning's first NFL start at quarterback, falling 16-10. Dan Hoard recaps the game with radio replays, locker room comments, and postgame analysis from Dave Lapham. Then, in this week's "Fun Facts" conversation, you'll get to know tight end Irv Smith Jr. [LISTEN AND SUBSCRIBE NOW]( [Nuts]( [Join the eaitlist]( [Ring of Honor Memorabilia ]( [Vikings]( [Browns]( [Schedule]( | [Tickets]( | [Shop]( | [Watch]( ©2023 Cincinnati Bengals 1 Paycor Stadium, Cincinnati OH 45202 US [bengals.com]( | 513.621.8383 | bengals@bengals.nfl.net [Manage My Preferences Add]( [bengals@bengals.nfl.net]( [to your email contact list/address book to ensure delivery of future emails from the Cincinnati Bengals.]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. You are receiving this email because your email address was used for a ticket purchase or you opted-in to receive emails. If you no longer wish to receive emails from the Cincinnati Bengals then you may [unsubscribe](. [instagram logo]( [twitter logo]( [youtube logo](