CINCINNATI, Ohio — Just minutes after the Bengals’ stunning 39-38 loss to the Jets on Sunday , head coach Zac Taylor delivered a message that could either galvanize or divide his locker room: “Someone needs to step up.”

The defense allowed 23 points in the fourth quarter after giving up just 16 in the first three quarters combined, blowing a 15-point lead.

After the game, Bengals quarterback Joe Flacco was asked about Taylor’s challenge.

“Yeah, I mean, we’re all men, coaches included, and prideful,” Flacco acknowledged to reporters when asked how adult men in an NFL locker room typically receive a coach’s challenge to step up. “But at the same time, I think what makes a good football player a tough, grown man is the ability to look inward and maybe acknowledge some of the things that

See Full Page