Bengals and Jaguars have plenty at stake on MNF including the Taylor Bro Bowl troph
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) The Taylor Bro Bowl trophy used to mean a lot more to Zac and Pre s Taylor. Its still a fun reminder of their head-to-head coaching record and a chance to regale matchups that might get fuzzy over time.But its way down on the list of whats important when on Monday night. The brothers Pre s is Jacksonvilles offensive coordinator; Zac is Cincinnatis head coach plan to hang out before the game and maybe see family members. But their fifth meeting at footballs highest level is more significant for mom, dad and others around them.A lot is made of it, Zac said. Probably the least is made of it for me and Pre s.ADVERTISEMENT Their father, Sherwood Taylor, created the family trophy in 2017 to commemorate the scores of NFL games in which his sons coach against each other. He keeps it on a desk in his home office in Norman, Oklahoma. It gets pulled out every now and then and certainly will get a refresh next week since dad gets the latest result engraved on the trophy.It used to be something that was cool, Pre s said. We were both quality controls or a sistant position coaches, whatever it was. It was kind of a fun way for our family to be involved, for us to talk a little trash.Now its just kind of something that only gets brought up this time of year. We may randomly think about it every so often and see if my dad updated it, but thats really all it is. Its just a fun thing for our family.Fun and intense.The games have been close, with Zac winning the first meeting in 2015 by
Ross Stripling Jersey a point (Miami 20, Philadelphia 19). Pre s won the next two with Philadelphia, beating the Los Angeles Rams in consecutive years (43-35 in 2017 and 30-23 in 2018). Their most recent one was a 23-all tie in 2020 between the Eagles and Cincinnati.So Pre s is 2-1-1 in the series. Zac can tie it up Monday night, but his Bengals (5-6) are 9 1/2-point underdogs against the Jaguars (8-3), according to . Several family members, including mom and dad, will be on hand for the fifth iteration.Jacksonville has won seven of its past eight to build a two-game lead in the AFC South entering Week 13. Cincinnati has lost three in a row, the past two after losing star quarterback Joe Burrow to a wrist injury, and needs a victory to avoid falling further back in the AFC North.The Jaguars are making their first appearance on Monday Night Football since 2011, and the Bengals are 3-20 in road MNF games the worst record in NFL history. Cincy last won a MNF road game in 1990.The brothers grew up watching Monday Night Football in Oklahoma. Sherwood Taylor played defensive back at Oklahoma under Hall of Fame coach Barry Switzer in the late 1970s and was a team captain in 1979 and was an a sistant coach at Kansas State in the 1980s. Sherwood quit coaching to spend more time with his family.Both sons ended up becoming college quarterbacks. Zac landed at Nebraska after leading Butler Community College to a national championship game and Pre s finished up at Marshall after leading Butler Community College to back-to-back NJCAA titles. It was no surprise that they got into coaching shortly after college, with Zac beginning at Texas A&M in 2008 and Pre s, who is five years younger, getting his start at Tulsa in 2011.Weve had the best coach there is with my dad, Zac said. The way he coached us as kids. The values he instilled in us allowed you to go impact other people, and what do we know best? We know football best. Thats a profe sion we naturally were drawn to.I like to think that we coach the same way he coached us, with patience and just a willingne s to help people improve and communicate with him.Mom played a key role, too.She told us we were the best at everything we ever did, Zac said. She still cant get over the fact I didnt win the Heisman Trophy. I was probably 80th in the ballots, but she is still disappointed it didnt happen.The brothers have immense support, with each other near the top of the list. And no matter what happens Monday night, theyve got each others back.Thats my older brother; thats somebody I look up to, Pre s said.And with Pre s having so much succe s in Jacksonville, the Taylor Bro Bowl trophy might eventually become filled with head coaching matchups.Hes somebody Im very proud of, Zac said. Ive watched his journey. Hes earned every everything hes ever gotten; hes worked really hard for it. Its really cool to see him in this position and doing really well and using their pieces the right way and scoring a lot of points and having fun.___AP NFL:
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