Zac Taylor and Cincinnati dare to dream after Bengals’ fairytale run to Super Bowl

Zac Taylor had just secured adulation for a lifetime after guiding the Cincinnati Bengals past the Las Vegas Raiders for their first play-off victory in 30 years.

Taylor had delivered that precious moment, and was set to mastermind a few more of them on the way to Sunday’s Super Bowl LVI against the Los Angeles Rams. But the third-year head coach allowed himself to revel in his achievement just a little.

A man of his word, after vowing to dish out game balls once to fans after play-off victories, Taylor pulled over on the way home from Paul Brown Stadium last month, delighting locals at Mount Lookout Tavern with a surprise visit. Joined by punter Kevin Huber, Taylor hand-delivered a game ball to the bar as gratitude after igniting this brave new era.

"It was what I pictured," Taylor told The MMQB’s Albert Breer. "It was packed. It was a good scene. People obviously had been there for a while, having a good time, which is what I was hoping for. So it was fun to be able to share that with those people."

Taylor, a former undrafted quarterback, is happy to concede the limelight to his star players, unlike some of his contemporaries. In fact, there remains considerable scepticism, even among Bengals fans, as to how much credit he deserves for this miraculous run, with a contract renewal all but inevitable this off-season.

Just watch and smile https://t.co/O6u6LKzhbz pic.twitter.com/lT5ODIAZwn

The 38-year-old entered the year under pressure after returning a record of 6-25-1 from two seasons in charge. Taylor is a disciple of former boss Sean McVay, who he meets on Sunday at SoFi Stadium five years after first linking up in 2017 as an assistant wide receivers coach before graduating to quarterbacks coach a year later.

And