Posts by @Sam Schneider

Zac Taylor’s first season as head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals was a bumpy ride. It appeared that from the start, disaster lurked around every corner in the guise of injuries to key players and ill-advised decisions, mental mistakes as well as overall poor play. With that said, there have not been many teams in history that can go 2-14 and not sustain some infighting or even a complete locker room meltdown. The Bengals players did not succumb to that, electing instead to support their rookie head coach (and each other) and battle to the end of a miserable campaign.

The Los Angeles Chargers finished 5-11 in 2019, just one year removed from a trip to the playoffs, mostly thanks to injuries and inconsistency on the offensive line. In the offseason, more pieces were added to an already solid defense (ranked fifth versus the pass, 14th in total points allowed in 2019), as well as some offensive line upgrades. The 2020 season is showing a lot of promise, but for it all to come together the Chargers will need solid performances from veterans and help from the new faces. Here, we’ll see which players may have the best shot to win the individual awards after their first season in a new stadium. Away we go!