Tag: 2024 NFL Playoffs

When the Cincinnati Bengals dropped the game to the Pittsburgh Steelers over the weekend, it had the feel of all hope being lost.

Not only did the Bengals look lost on the field to the point Mike Hilton was brutally honest about their issues, but it knocked them far down the playoff board.

But the rest of the league’s results from Week 16 have seemingly kept the Bengals alive.

At the New York Times‘ playoff machine, the Bengals have a better than 90 percent chance to still make the postseason if they can beat the Chiefs and Browns to close the season.

Easier said than done, of course. But the Chiefs, Colts, Texans, Jaguars and Broncos all dropping games in Week 16 had a pretty profound impact on the Cincinnati outlook.

Granted, the Bengals have to fix the litany of issues that sunk them in Pittsburgh with zero wiggle room for mistakes. But given how wild the AFC has been, they should get a little help from other results over the next two weeks, so getting right against the Chiefs in Kansas City would be a huge deal.

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The Cincinnati Bengals lost on Saturday, then took another hit in the playoff race on Sunday while resting courtesy of the day’s results.

With the Cleveland Browns beating the Houston Texans on Sunday, the Bengals lost the ability to contend for the fifth playoff seed, with the AFC shaping up like this:

1. Ravens (11-3)
2. Dolphins (10-5)
3. Chiefs (9-5)
4. Jaguars (8-7)
5. Browns (10-5)
6. Bills (9-6)
7. Colts (8-7)
8. Texans (8-7)
9. Steelers (8-7)
10. Bengals (8-7)

The Bengals could still technically grab the sixth or seventh seed, but it would take some serious help while likely needing to win their final two, including beating the Chiefs on the road next week.

The players aren’t going to stop trying, especially based on Mike Hilton’s comments, but it’s understandable if fans start eyeballing draft position, too.

When it comes to the playoffs, next week’s rooting guide will be pretty interesting, to say the least.

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The Cincinnati Bengals entered Saturday with a grip on a playoff spot and merely needed to win games and get a little help to make the postseason.

They left it out of the playoff picture.

While the Bengals aren’t completely eliminated from playoff contention, their loss and a Buffalo win later in the night knocked them far down the board:

1. Ravens (11-3)
2. Dolphins (10-4)
3. Chiefs (9-5)
4. Jaguars (8-6)
5. Browns (9-5)
6. Bills (9-6)
7. Colts (8-6)
8. Texans (8-6)
9. Steelers (8-7)
10. Bengals (8-7)

While the Bengals aren’t eliminated, they need wins over the Chiefs and Browns to close the season and some help.

Easier said than done, but that’s life in a stacked AFC when a team goes 0-5 in its division and 3-7 in the conference.

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The Cincinnati Bengals took care of business in Week 15 with the win over the Minnesota Vikings, keeping their playoff hopes alive.

But Sunday wasn’t kind to them, with the Texans, Bills and Browns picking up wins.

That leaves the AFC playoff seeding looking like this as of this writing:

1. Ravens (11-3)
2. Dolphins (10-4)
3. Chiefs (9-5)
4. Jaguars (8-6)
5. Browns (9-5)
6. Bengals (8-6)
7. Colts (8-6)
8. Texans (8-6)
9. Bills (8-6)

Problem is, the Bengals have just a 32 percent chance of actually making the playoffs over at the New York Times‘ simulator due to the remaining overall AFC schedule. Dropping just one of their remaining three games keeps that at only around a 60 percent chance to make the postseason.

Translation? The Bengals need to keep winning and even if they do, they might need some help. For now, they appear in, but things outside of their control will still need to go their way, too.

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The Cincinnati Bengals remain a long shot for the playoffs.

But the path exists.

That’s the big takeaway when looking at the remaining schedule and the rest of the conference. One of the most valuable resources in analyzing this is the playoff simulator from the New York Times, which currently has the Bengals with a 25 percent chance to make the postseason.

But given how bunched up the AFC is, who the Bengals play the rest of the way and how the schedule pits these teams against one another, things get interesting when users start punching in results.

For example, clicking the button that says the Bengals will beat the Vikings next weekend boosts their odds of making the postseason to 34 percent. Clicking that the Bengals will beat the Steelers in Week 16 raises their odds to 55 percent. Add a road loss to the Chiefs in Week 17 and a win over the Browns in Week 18, and the number jumps to roughly 78 percent.

Things go very south if adding a second loss in addition to the Chiefs, though. Losing to the Chiefs and Vikings drops it to 15 percent. Steelers and Chiefs, 6 percent. Or Browns and Chiefs, 13 percent.

For what it’s worth, if the Bengals win out, going 4-0 to close the season, it’s effectively a guaranteed spot.

Luckily for the Bengals, they should get some help the rest of the way. The Browns play the Texans, Jets and Cincinnati over their final four. The Steelers play the Colts, Cincinnati and Ravens. The Texans play the Titans twice, Browns and Colts.

Unfortunately for fans, the rooting interests in some of these games are impossible to say. Rooting for the Texans to win their division might actually give the Bengals a better chance because they happen to own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Colts and Jaguars.

As we always knew, that miserable 0-4 AFC North and 3-6 AFC record could come back to bite the Bengals in a big way.

To boil it down, the Bengals need to win three more games — at least.

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The Cincinnati Bengals are suddenly very much alive in the AFC playoff conversation.

Make no mistake, it’s still a long shot. But taking down a Jacksonville team on Monday night that had dreams of stealing the AFC’s top seed — while a backup threw for 300-plus yards — has made things interesting.

So, too, does the remaining schedule.

First, the updated AFC standings:

1. Miami (9-3)
2. Baltimore (9-3)
3. Kansas City (8-4)
4. Jacksonville (8-4)
5. Pittsburgh (7-5)
6. Cleveland (7-5)
7. Indianapolis (7-5)
8. Houston (7-5)
9. Denver (6-6)
10. Cincinnati (6-6)
11. Buffalo (6-6)

When four teams have just one more win ahead of them, the Bengals aren’t entirely out of it. Keep in mind they play four of those teams between now and season’s end, too.

That remaining schedule could feature games against four backup passers, too:

• Week 14: vs. Colts (Gardner Minshew)
• Week 15: vs. Vikings (Josh Dobbs)
• Week 16: at Steelers (Mitch Trubisky)
• Week 17: at Chiefs (Pat Mahomes)
• Week 18: vs. Browns (Joe Flacco)

The Bengals need to hit on a combo to keep winning: The offense needs to keep looking good around Jake Browning’s skillset and the defense needs to, well, wake up.

But with that schedule and the bunched-up standings? The Bengals aren’t dead just yet.

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