Cam Taylor-Britt followed Ja’Marr Chase’s example and the Cincinnati Bengals are the surprise starters of the NFL at 0-3.

After Chase predicted in the offseason that the Bengals were a Super Bowl contender, Taylor-Britt spent the last two weeks challenging the Chiefs’ Xavier Worthy and Washington’s “College Offense” – the Bengals lost both games.

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After the Week 1 upset against the New England Patriots, the Bengals can rightly claim to have won each of their last two games – but for a team with Lombardi ambitions, three losses in a row is not enough.

In general, playing in the NFL – a league full of 300-pound men who get paid handsomely to beat you up – requires a fair amount of confidence.

How else do you prepare to run a crossing route or dress like that for a post-game press conference?

Whether it’s through elaborate rituals, mild physical abuse, or just plain old-fashioned trash talk, NFL players have always found a way to keep their confidence high. And more often than not, that’s reflected in their play on the field.

But sometimes all this noise can backfire… with disastrous consequences.

The most recent example of this misplaced confidence occurred just this week when Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt, who had just backed up his previous hit on Xavier Worthy with his spectacular one-handed interception against Patrick Mahomes, once again spoke big.

Taylor-Britt felt like himself. Only this time things went horribly wrong.

Here’s what Taylor-Britt said about the Commanders, offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and quarterback Jayden Daniels ahead of their Monday Night Football matchup.

“They’re not forcing him to do much,” Taylor-Britt said Thursday.

“For him, they keep it really simple. Good college offense, (Kliff) Kingsbury, the OC, so they love moving guys here and there, but for him, they just keep it really simple.

“I’ve heard his passing percentage is very high, but he only throws short distances, some medium-length stuff and quick throws.”

254 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, one rushing touchdown, and a rookie single-game record completion rate of 91.3% later, it was Daniels and the Commanders who had the last laugh.

Daniels put on his best performance of the season so far in front of a national audience on Monday Night Football, defeating the Bengals 38-33. It was only his third career start, but it felt like his 300th.

Cincinnati head coach Zac Taylor was not happy with Taylor-Britt’s pregame comments.

“That’s not what we do,” Taylor said.

“We praise our own team. Let’s praise the other team. We don’t have to make throws like that. This team hasn’t punted in two weeks.”

“They’ve scored on every possession over the last two weeks. I have enormous respect for what they’re doing there.”

Taylor-Britt, on the other hand, stood firm after the game and reiterated his previous comments.

“I don’t regret it,” Taylor-Britt said. “I didn’t mean any harm by the comment. It was just exaggerated.”

“Yes, I can take back what I said. Absolutely,” he added. “We took a loss today. As a team, it was kind of a college offense – very quick throws. He’s very athletic and he extends plays. That’s how the game went. They stuck to their plan.”

They stuck to their plan. And that plan made Taylor-Britt and the Bengals defense look absolutely helpless all night.

Star WR Ja’Marr Chase – fresh off his team’s lackluster loss to the underdog New England Patriots – was asked about his team’s Week 2 game against rival two-time Super Bowl defending champion Kansas City Chiefs.

And despite the result against New England and the Bengals’ 9-8 loss last season, Chase hinted that the road to the Super Bowl still seems to lead through Cincinnati.

“We are the team to beat in the AFC. And we know it. And we have to play like it,” Chase told reporters.

“The energy is there on both sides. It’s been four years now, so everyone understands.”

We couldn’t help but dismiss Chase’s words as a case of unfounded trust. And indeed, there is quite a rich history of The also in the NFL. Here are some examples.

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Matt Hasselbeck

This may be the NFL’s best example of trash talk gone wrong. After leading a last-minute drive that sent the 2003 Wild Card game between the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers into overtime, Seattle quarterback Hasselbeck was overly confident – and let everyone know it.

When Hasselbeck won the coin toss for overtime, he shouted: “We want the ball and we will score a goal!”

Unfortunately, this was picked up by the referee’s microphone, so thousands of fans in the stands (and millions at home) could hear it – which was made even more embarrassing by what happened next:

Six plays into Seattle’s second possession of overtime, Hasselbeck threw a pick six to the Packers’ Al Harris, sending Seattle home for the postseason.

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Leodis McKelvin

Bills cornerback Leodis McKelvin was feeling pretty confident before his team’s 2014 game against the Miami Dolphins, and he had every reason to be.

After all, Buffalo had beaten Miami three times in a row by a total score of 71-31.

But when he announced that his team was going to “kick his ass,” the Dolphins took notice. Not only did they beat Buffalo 22-9, but they made McKelvin seem practically irrelevant… his only “highlight” in the game was a play that broke his ankle, an injury that kept him out for the rest of the season.

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Chad Ochocinco

In the first game of the 2007 NFL season, the Bengals’ brash wide receiver – then known as Chad Johnson – caught a 39-yard touchdown pass, ran to the sideline and put on a gold replica Hall of Fame jacket emblazoned with the words “FUTURE HOF 20??”

The football gods certainly noticed this act of pure hubris, because although Ochocinco set a Bengals record for most receiving yards that season, he posted career lows in both receiving yards and touchdowns the following year and was out of the NFL for good in 2012.

And he has not yet been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

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Tom Brady

Even the GOAT could get a little cocky. As his undefeated New England Patriots were set to face the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII, Brady responded to a reporter’s question about a prediction made by Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress.

That the Giants would not only shock the world, but also limit the Pats’ outstanding offense to a measly (and strangely specific) 17 points.

Brady laughed at the trash talk – “We’re only going to score 17 points? OK. Is Plax playing defense?”

Angered by his giggling and disrespect, several Giants players went out and knocked out the Patriots, pulling off one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history.

And to Burress’s credit, New England only scored 14 points.

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Tyreek Hill

After six extremely productive seasons in Kansas City, the speedy wide receiver was traded to the Miami Dolphins in 2022.

It didn’t take long for him to turn his attention to his former team, against whom he would play in the coming season.

“Chiefs Kingdom, when the Miami Dolphins come to Arrowhead Stadium, guess what we’re going to do?” Hill said during an appearance on a Miami radio station.

“I hate to give you all the peace sign… but you know what? On that day, I will be your worst enemy.”

Needless to say, the Chiefs took this personally and smothered the otherwise dynamic Hill (8 catches for 62 yards) and the entire Dolphins offense in a 21-14 victory.

To make matters worse, Chiefs defensive back Trent McDuffie – the Hill while of the game – not only did he stop Hill after he caught a pass, but he also took the ball away from him, which was picked up by the KC defense and carried back for a touchdown that made the score 21-0.

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