Eight weeks into the season, the Cincinnati Bengals have a record of 4-3 and have won four out of their last five games, including a 31-17 win over the San Francisco 49ers in Week 8.
In a recent power rankings, Nate Davis of USA Today raised the Bengals from 12th in the league to 10th after the win. Here’s what he had to say about why he put them there:
They seem to be back, QB Joe Burrow looking quite spry and highly accurate Sunday as Cincinnati won for the fourth time in its past five games. But speaking of four out of five, the Stripes will face Buffalo, Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Jacksonville over the next five weeks.
It’s true that the Bengals do have a tough stretch coming up on their schedule, but after beating the 49ers in very convincing fashion, and Burrow putting up his best game of the year against San Francisco’s great defense, they have shown that they will be able to compete with anyone.
The Bengals continue to move up different rankings, but they are going to have to prove themselves even further to make it back to where they were placed in these rankings at the beginning of the year.