Are The Joe And Three Cincinnati Bengals Going To Make The Playoffs Or What?
Dylan Buell. Getty Images.The start of the NFL season always brings a lot of surprises that fly in the face of preseason expectations and analyst predictions. But rarely does something happen like what we're seeing with the Bengals. They are one of the two true enigmas in the NFL to start the season. The Vikings are the fortunate yin to the unfortunate Bengals yang. A team that was supposed to be the worst in the NFL after losing JJ McCarthy. And the Bengals were a healthy Joe Burrow away from being a Super Bowl contender once again. Imagine betting your delusional Vikings fan friend before the season which team would start 3-0. How much money would you have wagered, Who Dey Nation?
This team seems to have one purpose this season. Destroy everyone's survivor league. Mission accomplished, guys. Even though you almost beat the Super Bowl champions on their own field, you've now blown two home games to two of the lowest regarded teams in the NFL. And it's not like Burrow is struggling aside from Week 1. Dude didn't turn the ball over and never led a drive to end in a punt in Week 3. And it still wasn't good enough.
But is the season really over? The market says no. The Bengals are listed at +115 to make the playoffs. But historically speaking? It's not looking great. I could tell you only six out of the 241 0-3 teams since the merger made the Playoffs, but sometimes looking at numbers doesn't really let reality soak in.
You know what does let it all soak in? Giving your thumb a solid set of 10-12 scroll reps looking for these needles in the haystack.
That was a sad scroll. I know. But I think we can also say with reasonable assurance that these 2024 Bengals do not fit the profile of most of these bum ass squads. Market makers would agree as evidenced with the +115 future. I mean, they have Tee Higgins back, Burrow has showed his wrist is healthy enough for him to perform to his elite capability, Chase is doing Chase things, and the new guy Iosivas is showing promise. They just need the defense to improve to "very bad" and I think they'll be in good shape.
Let's look forward a little bit. They get the Panthers, Giants, and Browns in three of their next four weeks with the Ravens the fourth. 3-4 seems very attainable if we all agree Weeks 1 and 3 were gigantic flukes. The Rams, Bucs, and Texans all made the Playoffs last season after starting 3-4 while seven other teams missed out.
Then again - making the Playoffs isn't going to be considered a successful 2024 season for fans who just saw them go the Super Bowl a few years ago. Remember that sad scroll with the six teams who made the playoffs covered in green? Yeah, well only the 1992 Chargers actually won a playoff game and they would go on to lose the next anyway. And that's the real bummer here. Seems like Joe's contract has severely limited their ability to invest in the defense.
If these Bengals are going to be able to pull out of this and get back to the Super Bowl, they'll need to figure how to keep Week 2 vs the Chiefs activated and not Week 1 vs the Patriots or Week 3 vs the Commanders.
What an enigma this team is…