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The Cincinnati Bengals aren’t strangers to the underdog role, something they’ll take up again big time in 2021.
This upcoming season features the third attempt by Zac Taylor to get his re-tooled roster humming in a proper manner. It also boasts the return of Joe Burrow from injury, as he remains on track for a Week 1 re-debut.
Despite some of the positives coming out of Cincinnati over the last five months or so, the Bengals aren’t one of the 12 teams with a “real” shot at the Super Bowl, per a list formulated by Sports Illustrated’s Connor Orr.
Not to worry though — teams like the New England Patriots didn’t make the cut either.
Interestingly though, the Cleveland Browns did — and they actually sit third overall behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs.
Maybe keeping a low profile is better for the Bengals, though. As we recently argued, a projected nine-win mark might be the best possible outcome for this rebuilding team in 2021.
That, at least arguably, would be better than being as hyped as the Browns and coming up short.
And being left off a list like this just comes with the territory of being an underdog, anyway.
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