CINCINNATI — Cincinnati Bengals coach Zac Taylor made the team’s running back hierarchy explicitly clear Wednesday.

Even though Samaje Perine has done well the past few weeks, the starting spot still belongs to Joe Mixon.

“Joe Mixon’s our starting running back,” Taylor said. “The last game he played, he had five touchdowns. Tremendous effort. And Samaje’s done a really good job filling in.”

Perine has started the last two games while Mixon has been out recovering from a concussion he sustained in the team’s Week 11 win against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Since that game, Perine has rushed for 194 yards, one touchdown and 10 first downs. Perine also has 136 receiving yards during that span, the fourth-highest of any running back according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

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Cincinnati’s rushing attack sputtered early in the season before the team shifted its rushing philosophy from a zone-heavy scheme to a gap scheme. Mixon’s rushing numbers, which were among the worst in the NFL at one point, showed improvement in the middle of the season. In Week 9 against the