Bengals vs. Jags turns into Taylor family time

JACKSONVILLE — The “Taylor Bro Bowl” trophy used to mean a lot more to Zac and Press Taylor.

It’s still a fun reminder of their head-to-head coaching record and a chance to regale matchups that might get fuzzy over time.

But it’s way down on the list of what’s important when Press and the Jaguars host Zac and the Bengals tonight. The brothers — Press is Jacksonville’s offensive coordinator; Zac is Cincinnati’s head coach — plan to hang out before the game and maybe see family members. But their fifth meeting at football’s 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 Press.”

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,” Press said. “We were both quality controls or assistant 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 it’s 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 that’s really all it is. It’s just a fun thing for our family.”

Fun and intense.

The games have been close, with Zac winning the first meeting in 2015 by a point (Miami 20, Philadelphia 19). Press won the next two with Philadelphia, beating the Rams in consecutive years (43-35 in 2017 and 30-23 in 2018). Their most recent one was a 23-23 tie in 2020 between the Eagles and Cincinnati.

So Press is 2-1-1 in the series. Zac can tie it up tonight, but his Bengals (5-6) are 9 ½-point underdogs against the Jaguars (8-3), according to FanDuel Sportsbook. Several family members, including mom and dad, will be on hand for the fifth iteration.