Maxon Unfiltered: Bengals Misery, AFC North Chaos & Super Bowl 60

If you don’t stay down and you never quit, come on over here and sit on the far end of the bench.

Super Bowl week means extra reps for everybody, so after episode 265 with Daren, I decided to get selfish.

If we were going to talk about the disaster that was the Bengals season, the coaching clown show in the AFC North, and Super Bowl 60, I needed my guy back – the other half of our old Talking the Gridiron crew, the host of The Maxon Report, and the most recurring guest in show history:

Jordan Maxon.

When he and I get on a mic together, it feels like going home. Sunday-night stream yard, too much caffeine, and way too many opinions.

This bonus show is that energy all over again.

A Talking the Gridiron Reunion… With a Lot More Scar Tissue

Jordan said it in the episode: this is where his passion for doing sports media started – those Sunday nights on Talking the Gridiron with me and Daren.

Now it’s Super Bowl 60 week, and instead of celebrating a Bengals run, we’re sitting in the same old spot we know too well:

• Mad at ownership

• Mad at the coaching staff

• Mad at the way this roster was built

• Mad that we still care this much

We wanted this episode to be pure Bengals therapy – the stuff I never get to fully cook on when Niko is trying to drag me back to the Broncos.

Mission accomplished.

Bengals 2024: Wasted Year in the Jungle

Let’s just call it what it was:

A wasted year.

A wasted year of Joe Burrow’s prime, a wasted year of Jamar Chase, a wasted year of Tee Higgins’ 11-touchdown season, and even a wasted step forward for Chase Brown and the offensive line.

And the worst part? None of it should’ve been surprising.

Same Coaches. Same Scheme. Same Mistakes.

We went into this year with:

• The same head coach and offensive “philosophy”

• The same ideas on defense, just with different voices

• The same approach in the building: hope your stars cover all the cracks

They changed vibes, not habits.

Jordan and I kept coming back to one thing: this staff doesn’t develop anyone.

• Defensively, the drafts have been full of “projects” – with no evidence this organization can actually bring a project along.

• Since the Marvin Lewis era, very few home-grown defenders have turned into consistent difference-makers here.

• When you did have a defensive coordinator you trusted (Lou Anarumo), you let his guys walk and expected him to magically replace them with cheaper parts.

You let Jesse Bates walk and then acted shocked when nobody could run the same defense. You let the heart of the defense walk to Detroit and then wondered why nobody set the tone up front.

That’s not bad luck. That’s self-inflicted.

Trenches, Missed Tackles & a Defense That Forgot How to Finish

If you watched this team all year, you know exactly what we’re talking about.

No Tanks in the Middle

Up front:

• Losing DJ Reader’s presence and leadership mattered way more than the front office wanted to admit.

• The three-tech spot has never been truly replaced since guys like Larry Ogunjobi moved on.

• When Trey Hendrickson wasn’t right, nobody else scared anybody.

Guys like Slayton had stat lines that, on paper, looked DJ Reader-ish… but on Sundays, it felt like he was getting swallowed in double teams because nobody on the edge was winning.

Linebackers & Missed Tackles

Then there were the linebackers.

Jordan came loaded with the numbers: two starting backers sitting in the bottom tier of the league in missed tackles, and it showed every single week.

My sideline coach brain was screaming:

• Missed fits

• Terrible angles

• Guys trying to blow people up instead of just getting them on the ground

You can’t play hero ball at linebacker in the NFL. Sometimes the best play is just grabbing an ankle and living to fight another down.

Instead, we watched checkdowns and screens that should’ve gone for 3–4 yards turn into 15–20 and flip field position.

As I said in the episode:

I want every defensive series to end with a kick – punt or field goal, I don’t care. Just not a touchdown.

This year, too many drives ended with our guys jogging back to the sideline after tackling someone in the end zone.

Zack Taylor, the Front Office & the Definition of Insanity

Let’s talk about the elephant in the jungle.

The rest of the AFC North looked at their situations and said, “What have you done for me lately?”

• Baltimore moved on from Harbaugh.

• Pittsburgh finally faced hard questions with Tomlin.

• Cleveland has been a circus, but even they aren’t living off old trophies.

Meanwhile in Cincinnati?

The second Black Monday hit, the Bengals PR team rushes out that Zac Taylor and Duke Tobin have the full confidence of ownership.

Jordan went off – and he’s right:

• Zac’s offense is predictable and conservative.

• He doesn’t use all the weapons in the tight end room.

• There’s no sense of fear or urgency in his game management.

• And there’s zero evidence he’s respected the way Marvin Lewis was, even on Marvin’s way out.

It feels like we’re stuck with a head coach who is:

• Safe

• Manipulable

• Comfortable for ownership

…instead of the best guy for Joe Burrow’s prime years.

We love this team too much to pretend everything is fine just because we were “one play away” once upon a time.

That version of this roster is gone. You didn’t pay that team. You didn’t keep that core together. And trying to cut corners to “recreate” it has cost more in draft capital and failed free agents than it would’ve cost to just keep your guys in the first place.

That’s the part that feels insane.

How Do You Fix It?

If it were up to us?

1. Get Serious in the Draft

At pick 10, you can take an instant-impact starter. The Bengals historically act like they can’t.

What we want:

• Day 1 starters in the first two rounds, not long-term science projects.

• Either:

  • A legit edge rusher who causes chaos right now, or

  • A cornerstone tackle who lets you finally stop patching that position together with duct tape and prayers.

And please – fewer “toolsy” guys who might turn into something if you had a development pipeline. Draft some proven leaders and culture changers.

2. Bring in Real Adults in the Room

• A veteran linebacker who knows how to fit the run and tackle in space.

• A position coach or defensive coordinator with a track record of building fundamentals, not just drawing up scheme.

Right now too many guys are out there trying to make the SportsCenter hit instead of the winning play. That’s a culture and coaching problem.

3. Hit on Free Agency – For Real

Jordan’s goal for the offseason:

Two impact starters from the draft and at least three free agents who actually move the needle.

Not “name-brand guys with nothing left.” Not bargain-bin hopes. Actual difference makers.

Is that historically how this franchise operates? No.

Is it what a team with Joe Burrow & Jamar Chase should be doing?

Absolutely.

From Pain to Picks: Super Bowl 60 Preview

Once we finally took a breath from screaming about the Bengals, we pivoted to Super Bowl 60:

New England Patriots vs Seattle Seahawks.

This is a wild matchup in its own right:

• Patriots: young, physical, defense-first, and maybe here a year or two early. Drake May’s turnover issues have calmed down, but the offense still disappears in stretches.

• Seahawks: the most complete team in football right now – top-to-bottom roster, pass rush, weapons, and a re-born Sam Darnold running the show on offense.

Jordan and I see this game the same way:

For New England to Win…

They have to turn it into ugly, old-school, four-yards-a-carry football:

• Run game has to eat clock

• Keep Seattle’s weapons – especially Jaxon Smith-Njigba – standing on the sideline

• Let Mike Vrabel do weird Mike Vrabel things in the fourth quarter

The Patriots’ defense is good enough. The question is:

Can the run game and protection hold up long enough to keep Drake May out of that “one back-breaking mistake”?

Why Seattle Has the Edge

Seattle is:

• Deeper

• Faster

• Better in the trenches

• Better on special teams

And Sam Darnold isn’t the haunted kid from the Jets anymore. Back-to-back 14-win seasons with two different franchises and playoff games where he didn’t give the ball away tell you everything:

He finally got coached.

He talks constantly about his staff:

• Letting him watch film his way

• Giving him real freedom at the line

• Communicating between series like grown adults trying to solve a problem together

We called it the Sam Darnold Revenge Tour for a reason.

Our Super Bowl 60 Picks

We both landed on Seattle – just with slightly different scripts.

Jordan’s pick:

Seahawks 31, Patriots 21

Tight early, Patriots hang around, but one big Drake May turnover flips it. Seattle hits a play-action shot to JSN, goes up double-digits, and slams the door.

My pick:

Seahawks 24, Patriots 17

More of a defensive fight. I think Seattle stretches it to a 17-point lead at some point, Vrabel and May claw it back within 10, but that’s where it stalls out.

Either way, if you’re betting the thing, I said it on the show and I’ll say it here:

I’d lean Seahawks against the spread. They’re just better in all three phases.

Why You Should Be Listening to The Maxon Report

Before we wrapped, Jordan laid out what he’s building with The Maxon Report, and if you’re into high school and college football the way a lot of you are, you need this in your rotation.

Ohio is one of the first states allowing high school NIL, and Jordan is giving those kids something they usually never get:

A platform as actual human beings.

On his show, he’s sitting down with:

• Elite high school recruits

• Future Power Five linemen and quarterbacks

• Transfers stepping into Big Ten and SEC programs

And instead of just rattling off their 40 times and huddle clips, he asks them:

• Who are you outside of football?

• How do you see your role in a locker room and a community?

• What do you actually bring to a program as a person, not just a highlight tape?

They talk:

• Movies

• Offseason hobbies

• Mindset

• Family

• How they handle pressure and expectations

It’s the exact kind of storytelling we believe in on this show – just pointed at the next generation of Saturdays and (for a few of them) Sundays.

If you’re one of my students who subscribes to Far End of the Bench, go check out The Maxon Report too. It’s kids closer to your age, from another part of the country, living the stuff you dream about.

“F*** Cancer” & a Toast to What’s Next

We ended the episode the way I’ll end this blog:

Jordan’s dealing with more cancer-related stuff – procedures, spots being removed, all the fun that comes with that.

We don’t talk every day, but every time we do it’s real. Different states, different backgrounds, same wavelength.

So we raised a virtual glass, said the quiet part loud:

F* cancer.**

Then we toasted:

• To old Talking the Gridiron nights

• To future episodes

• To better Bengals seasons (please)

• To Jordan’s continued health

• And to you all, for riding along with us through every bit of the chaos

Where to Find Us

• Far End of the Bench – subscribe on YouTube, drop a rating on the pod, share this bonus show with the Bengals fan in your life who needs therapy.

• The Maxon Report – follow Jordan’s show, especially if you love high school and college ball and want to see the stories behind the recruits.

Drop your Super Bowl 60 pick in the comments:

• Score

• MVP

• And whether you’re Team Darnold Revenge Tour or Team Drake May Destiny

We’ll be back after the Super Bowl to break down whatever chaos actually happens.

If you don’t stay down and you never quit…
come on over here and sit on the far end of the bench.