The Bengals are at least moving in the right direction.
The Cincinnati Bengals won at home.
While that should’ve been accomplished in Week 1, they waited until Week 9 to win their first one at Paycor Stadium. Cincinnati has pushed its record to 4-5 with the win and can draw even at .500 with a Thursday Night Football victory over the Baltimore Ravens.
That said, clobbering the Las Vegas Raiders 41-24 isn’t the most surprising thing, but it certainly was the best outcome Sunday. The Bengals are getting back in good favor with the national power rankings.
Let’s dive into where they stand after just over half the season.
ESPN — No. 19 – Up from No. 22
Let’s look at this according to quarterback Joe Burrow’s napkin math. For Cincinnati to make the playoffs, the Bengals can lose only two more games before things get dicey. Per ESPN’s FPI, the Chargers have a slight advantage in a home game against Cincinnati. If the Bengals lose to the Ravens on Thursday, a defeat to the Chargers the following week will leave no margin for error if Cincinnati wants to feel remotely confident about the postseason. — Ben Baby
Yahoo! Sports — No. 16 – Up from No. 19
Joe Burrow seemed annoyed on the sideline during his five-touchdown game and afterward, said “what is there to be happy about?” Burrow was likely sending a message that the Bengals still have a long way to go, and they face a massive challenge Thursday night at Baltimore.
USA Today — No. 18 – Up from No. 21
As well as they’re generally playing – albeit against a fairly soft schedule – it might be even more remarkable that this rebounding program actually waded into the trade market, if only to do a low-level deal for ex-Chicago RB Khalil Herbert. Maybe now we know why the NFL thinks enough of the Stripes to trade them into Week 11’s Sunday night slot.
NFL.com — No. 20 – Up from No. 22
The Bengals have begun each of the previous three seasons with a 5-4 record, including 2021, when they were a few plays away from winning a Super Bowl. This year is slightly worse, although 4-5 looks a lot better than the 3-6 mark a loss to the Raiders would have brought, and it certainly stands as a major bounceback after Cincinnati started the year 0-3 (and 0-4 in home games until Sunday’s win). Joe Burrow continues to operate at a near-MVP level, even while missing Tee Higgins, but most outsiders won’t be buying any Bengals stock until they show they can go toe to toe with the league’s heavyweights. None of their victories have come against teams with winning records. The march toward respectability will officially commence with back-to-back road contests at Baltimore and the Chargers, followed by a home game against the Steelers after the Week 12 bye. Take, let’s say, two out of those three, and then we can talk.
Pro Football Talk — No. 18 – Up from No. 22
Thursday night’s visit to Baltimore will say plenty about whether they can turn it around.
Sports Illustrated — No. 15 – Up from No. 20
As Joe Burrow tries to obviously set a standard for this team that is not being set elsewhere, I find it interesting that a receiver who went AWOL from the club—and possibly found himself at a casino—is getting to play on Thursday Night Football against the division-rival Ravens. Between this and Tyrique Stevenson—not to sound like a boomer—the bar for actual, learn-from-your-mistakes punishment seems incredibly low in the NFL right now.
Sporting News — No. 19 – Up from No. 22
Joe Burrow is rolling at a high level passing all over the field, even when Ja’Marr Chase is quiet and Tee Higgins is not available. Given the shaky state of the AFC at the bottom of the playoff picture, the Bengals have a real chance because of their QB.
CBS Sports — No. 17 – Up from No. 25
They are alive and kicking in the playoff chase thanks to Joe Burrow having a special season. They face a big one this week at Baltimore.
