The Cincinnati Bengals haven’t given up hope in the crowded AFC despite Joe Burrow’s injury.
That might sound wild considering the team has lost three straight to hit 5-6 and the 11th seed in the conference.
But at the same time, offensive coordinator Brian Callahan isn’t exactly wrong in his recent assessment of things.
“It’s going to be a wide-open run here at the end. I just think there’s a lot of teams that play each other,” Callahan said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “The AFC is tight. There’s going to be teams that lose games and we just want to be in position. Put ourselves in position to have a chance. And that’s our focus at this point.”
The Bengals play AFC opponents in five of their remaining six games and each and every single one is in the playoff hunt. When the Bengals aren’t playing them, they’re playing each other after the NFL backloaded the schedule with meaningful games.
So…there’s always a chance. But much will have to improve for the Bengals to make it happen because the team that showed up and lost to the Steelers in Week 12 seemed like one that might have trouble getting even one more win this year.
They know it, too, based on comments from Zac Taylor and even comments from Jonah Williams. But the opportunity to play the spoiler and hit the playoffs? The door is still slightly ajar.
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