"Bengals look like Bishop Sycamore": Ryan Clark goes scorched earth on Zac Taylor and team after humiliating loss to Broncos on MNF

Zac Taylor's Cincinnati Bengals suffered a crushing 28-3 loss against the Denver Broncos in Week 4 of the 2025 NFL season on Monday. It was Cincinnati's second consecutive loss of the season, and it adds more pressure on Taylor.

Following the Bengals' loss to Denver, analyst Ryan Clark slammed Taylor and Cincinnati during ESPN's "SportsCenter" on Monday night.

“Joe Burrow can’t fix this,” Clark said. “Joe Burrow didn’t fix this in Week 1 against the Cleveland Browns offensively. They don’t protect. They don’t play good professional football as it comes to not making mistakes.

“This team didn’t look like they wanted it. … What was the fake high school? The fake high school that was going around playing the top high schools? Bishop Sycamore, or something like that? That’s who the Cincinnati Bengals look like right now: Bishop Sycamore. In the last two games, to be outscored in the manner that they have.”

Bishop Sycamore was a sham school that deceitfully made its way into high-profile games on national TV a few years ago. An investigation later revealed that the school wasn't real, had no building, and had no curriculum.

The Bengals were dealt a blow in Week 2 when their star quarterback, Joe Burrow, suffered a turf toe injury against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Since then, Jake Browning has led the offense. However, the Bengals have yet to win a game this season with Browning as QB1.

Bengals HC Zac Taylor opens up on heated altercation with Ja'Marr Chase during Week 4 clash vs. Broncos

Cincinnati Bengals HC Zac Taylor - Source: Imagn

In the third quarter of the Bengals vs. Broncos game, Cincinnati coach Zac Taylor appeared to get involved in a heated exchange with wideout Ja'Marr Chase. After the game, Taylor downplayed the incident.

Ja’Marr Chase, coming off a game like this, is one of my favorite players to deal with, quite frankly,” Taylor said, “Because he’s just competitive. He just wants to win, and it comes across as emotional, but that’s just a captain that works his tail off.

"All he wants to do is win the game. All he wants to do is affect the game, and oftentimes he feels like if, ‘I have the ball in my hand, I can do that,’ and I don’t disagree with him. And we’re always looking for ways to get him the ball. Obviously, sometimes for him, he can’t see what’s going on in the backfield and some of the challenges that face back there, but I love Ja’Marr."

Zac Taylor's Bengals (2-2) will host the Detroit Lions (3-1) in Week 5 on Sunday.