Playoff and draft implications

Though Bengals players and coaches want to win, they’d benefit from a loss when it comes to draft order. They’re the only one-win team in the NFL but the two-win New York Giants look bad enough to unseat them for the top overall pick. As for the Patriots, they’re second in playoff seeding behind Baltimore yet have lost the aforementioned head-to-head games against the top three teams around them in the standings. Sunday against the Bengals is a must-win.