AFC Notes: Arthur Smith, Cam Taylor-Britt, Bengals, Ravens, Steelers

Bengals

Bengals CB Cam Taylor-Britt has had immense struggles this season that have led to him being benched multiple times. Cincinnati DC Lou Anarumo acknowledged Taylor-Britt’s struggles but is confident he will get back to a consistent level of play.

“I hate to say that about any of our guys,” Anarumo said, via Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic. “Certainly, those stats aren’t what you want. If we just tackle the guy on a 5-yard out — they tempoed us and he should have gotten up there and pressed him and it doesn’t even happen but we didn’t. We are never going to give up on a guy like that. He’s got the great want-to and he’s doing everything he can. But we’ve got to do it better, that’s for sure.”

Ravens

Ravens LG Patrick Mekari and C Tyler Linderbaum have had a close relationship since Linderbaum was selected in the first round in the 2022 draft. Mekari talked about their rapport and how he knew Linderbaum was special right away.

“It’s very meaningful,” Mekari said, via Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. “Being a first-round draft pick is a big deal. A first-round draft pick that comes in as an offensive lineman is a really big deal. The way he came in, he didn’t want anything handed to him. His work ethic was there. Watching him play his first couple of games, I was like, ‘This is going to be a guy. This guy’s potential is through the roof.’ He works hard, he cares. He’s not a me guy. Since then, we just became friends. I learn a lot from him. I hope he learns something from me.”

Linderbaum reflected on how much Mekari has helped him to this point in his career because of his vast understanding of the game.

“We hit it off right away,” Linderbaum added. “He was the first guy I’d go to learn the center position here since he’s been in the offense so long. Just asking him about certain calls and he’d explain in a half-serious, half-not-serious way. He’s someone who really understands the game and likes to critique his craft. You just kind of naturally gravitate to that, especially guys who love football.”

• Ravens DC Zach Orr said the team would replace LB Roquan Smith by committee if he was unable to go in Week 12. (Jeff Zrebiec)

Steelers

The Steelers rank near the bottom of the NFL in red-zone scoring percentage at just 44.4 percent this season. Pittsburgh OC Arthur Smith admits they need to improve getting the ball into the end zone.

“Every time you get down there, you want to come away with a touchdown,” Smith said, via Kevin Gorman of TribuneLive. “We all got to do a better job there.”

Smith isn’t panicking about their lack of efficiency and is confident they will turn things around. 

“That’s why you keep working,” Smith said. “You see it and you try not to get caught up in it, whatever it is. Storylines change every five seconds. I guess it used to be 24 hours. Now it’s maybe 24 seconds with the attention spans. I think our attention spans are all shrinking, thanks to Apple. But, in all seriousness, you keep working and sometimes it is momentum and confidence.”

As for Pittsburgh committing costly turnovers in the red zone over the past two weeks, Smith reiterated how they need to be cleaner in critical moments. 

“I got a lot of faith,” Smith said. “And there’s some other things we could do. We need to be cleaner. The biggest thing that concerns me overall is we haven’t turned the ball over a lot, but that’s two weeks in a row and in close games we turned the ball over in the red zone and come away with no points. That’s a stuff you’ve got to fix because that can cost you.”