There’s a lot to like about the roster makeup of the Cincinnati Bengals as they prepare to defend their AFC championship. The Bengals have become one of the more complete teams in the NFL.
In fact, NFL.com’s Marc Ross ranked his top five complete teams in the league. Unfortunately for the Bengals, they just missed the cut of the top five, which wound up being the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Los Angeles Chargers, Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos.
The Bengals just missed along with the Cleveland Browns and Los Angeles Rams.
Ross noted it was a toss-up between the Broncos and Bengals for the No. 5 spot, but it ultimately came down to Denver’s trade for QB Russell Wilson.
The addition of the nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback raises the level of the entire organization with his deep-passing accuracy, ability to escape pressure and make plays off-schedule. Wilson is the missing piece in an offense full of playmakers, including receiver trio Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick and Jerry Jeudy.
You’re pretty much splitting hairs at this point, with both teams having incredible quarterbacks, star playmakers and very good defenses. Perhaps the Super Bowl ring helped pushed Wilson over Burrow in Ross’ mind? Denver is certainly going to be one of the intriguing teams to watch in the AFC this season with Wilson and new head coach Nathaniel Hackett in what is going to be a stacked AFC West (of which the Bengals only play the Chiefs in Week 13).
What are your thoughts on Denver vs Cincinnati in terms of their rosters?
