Cincinnati Bengals: 12 wins – 4 losses, AFC North winners, 3rd in AFC
The Ohio Tigers won their bet. Reissue as champion of the AFC North and invite themselves once again to the playoffs. They attack the qualifying series on a good streak of won games, with few injuries, but some questions about their effectiveness when facing the elite of the league.
How did they get there?
In their attempt to repeat their miraculous 2021 season, the Bengals have had some ups and downs. By blowing hot and cold on the first part of the season, they complicated the task. They did not present a positive balance sheet until week 9.
Losses to the Steelers (opener), Ravens and Browns were answered with wins over the resurgent Jets and Dolphins. But the Tigers gained momentum during the campaign to chain a series of eight straight wins and succeed in snagging a qualification in the playoffs and then winning the division title. The season ended with a straight home clash with Baltimore to decide home-court advantage in the playoffs.
Cincinnati ends its season with 12 wins and 4 losses, a fine record, even better than last year.
The key player: Joe Burrow (QB)
With a running game lacking in volume, and a defense bent on the quality of play from the line, the fate of the Bengals should once again be in the hands of Joe Burrow. Named to the Pro Bowl, the young pitcher continues to confirm his status as an elite quarterback.
In a somewhat one-dimensional attack and with a team likely to be restless even in close games, the Tigers will need all the talent and coolness of Joe to play their luck, even to be able to return in a meeting in the event of a switch to empty.
Why are they going to go all the way?
The Bengals have shown this year that their trip to the Finals was no fluke. They are now a force in their conference and have serious arguments to represent the AFC again in the Super Bowl.
From an offensive point of view, the Tigers represent the 8th best offense in the league in points, and have the 7th best passing game. Additionally, they line up the 7th point defense with the 5th run squad. Enough to defend their status as contenders during the playoffs.
On both sides of the ball, Cincinnati is led by a top-notch Joe Burrow, and a hellish DJ Reader who is the soul of not just the line but the entire defense.
Finally, the Bengals have managed the feat of bringing down the terrifying Chiefs once again, positioning themselves as the kryptonite of Patrick Mahomes’ men, and showing that they are legitimate and well in their place in these playoffs.
Why won’t they go?
For all its strengths, Cincinnati also has marked weaknesses. While the aerial game is successful, the ground game is anemic ranking 29th in the league. The attack therefore has a fairly one-dimensional character and must rely mainly on the exploits of Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd.
In defense, if the opposing race is well contained, the pass poses problems. Coverage ranks 21st in the NFL, and could suffer against the big guns in the conference.
Finally, even if the Bengals arrive in the playoffs with a nice series of victories, they have objectively experienced only relative adversity in the second half of the season. Even if they showed the ability to react by winning matches where they were led, they were often content to win matches for which they were a priori favorites on paper. Their only reference victory is ultimately limited to having brought down Kansas City, since the shock against Buffalo did not take place.
Injured players
Just like last year, Cincinnati will approach the playoffs with a relatively complete workforce. There will, however, be three notable absentees who will be severely missed by the Tigers to be at their full potential.
At the beginning of November Chidobe Awusie was placed on the injured list with a knee injury. By losing their number 1 cornerback, the Bengals find themselves diminished in a sector of play that was already in difficulty.
The offensive line – major project of the offseason and completely redesigned – took several weeks to start working properly. And a few days before attacking the playoffs, the Tigers lost La’el Collins, the right tackle injured in the knee, as well as Alex Cappa, their right guard injured in the ankle. Both linemen will be sorely missed in protecting Joe Burrow.
To a lesser degree, the Bengals must also do without Drew Sample (TE) and Brandon Wilson (S).
Prognosis
As the third-best team in the AFC, Cincinnati will enter its first round of the playoffs at home, as favorites, and to play the beautiful face of the Ravens. And while Baltimore will surely field Lamar Jackson for the occasion, fans will be waiting for a win.
The announced objective is therefore to reach at least the second qualifying round. At this time, the opponents will be among the most popular in the league, and even a (possible) exit to the divisional would simply crown one of the most beautiful franchise reconstructions in the NFL.
Either way, the Bengals won’t be good for the playoffs.
