There is still a lot of room for hope despite the slow start.
The Cincinnati Bengals are 0-2 but not out. They just have to get going, like right now.
According to ESPN’s Football Power Index, the Bengals have a 43% of making the playoffs. That’s best among all the 0-2 teams: Baltimore Ravens (42%), Indianapolis Colts (22%), Jacksonville Jaguars (22%), Tennessee Titans (12%), Los Angeles Rams (11%), New York Giants (4%), Denver Broncos (4%), and Carolina Panthers (2%).
Not only that, but Cincinnati has a better chance of making the playoffs than some 1-1 teams, like the Miami Dolphins (19%), the New England Patriots (15%), the Chicago Bears (28%), and the Bengals’ upcoming opponent, the Washington Commanders (21%).
In fact, the Bengals even have about the same chance as the 2-0 Seattle Seahawks.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell explains why the Bengals still have promise by writing that Cincinnati “probably deserved to win” against the Chiefs and that a fumble “victimized” the Bengals’ chances for the second straight week. He adds that he is “optimistic” about the upcoming schedule, as they will face the Commanders, Panthers, Giants, and Cleveland Browns.
Barnwell noted that Cincinnati’s next home game after that stretch will be against the Ravens “in a matchup that might decide which of these two teams is in a position to turn things around in the AFC North.”
But first things first. If the Bengals don’t win against the Commanders, they will fall to 0-3, and, as Barnwell mentioned in the beginning of his article, since 2002, only one of 103 teams to start 0-3 have managed to make the playoffs (the 2018 Houston Texans).
Even if we factor in the current 14-team playoff structure across that time span, Barnwell writes, we would only add the 2013 Steelers to those Texans, making it two out of 103, or just below 2% of such teams with disastrous starts made the postseason.
Can the Bengals avoid another letdown against the Commanders? We discuss below:
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