Don’t look now but the Cincinnati Bengals are 10-4 and hold the third seed in the AFC playoffs.
And if they have their way, they aren’t done climbing.
The Bengals have won six games in a row, winning 10 of 12 since that 0-2 start. With Lamar Jackson hurt and the Ravens stumbling, they now hold a game lead in the AFC North.
But for quarterback Joe Burrow, there’s more for the team to achieve. He told Fox 19’s Jeremy Rauch: that the top seed in the conference — most just the divisional crown — is the goal: “We’ve still got to win all the games. Going to come down to that last one. Take care of business these next couple weeks.”
Cincinnati closed on the road against New England, then at home against Buffalo and Baltimore.
That Bills squad is one of two teams in front of the Bengals in the standings at 11-3. The other is the Chiefs, also 11-3. Meaning, the Bengals already hold the tiebreaker over one team in front of them and will hold another if they win the head-to-head meeting with the Bills in Week 17.
Winning out would be the best-case scenario for the Bengals and isn’t out of the question given the team’s momentum right now. For starters though, they can clinch a playoff spot this Thursday with a Jets loss to the Jaguars.
- Bills 11-3
- Chiefs 11-3
- Bengals 10-4
- Titans 7-7
- Ravens 9-5
- Chargers8-6
- Dolphins 8-6