The season isn’t over for the Cincinnati Bengals, at least technically speaking.
But things sure don’t look good when zooming out to really consider the ramifications of that 0-3 start.
Since 1990 and the expanded playoff field, 162 teams have started a season 0-3. Just four of them have actually made the playoffs:
- 1992 Chargers
- 1995 Lions
- 1998 Bills
- 2018 Texans
That’s…2.4 percent, with just one of the four actually winning a playoff game upon arrival.
Now, we can point out things like Joe Burrow’s offense looking fantastic. And they do play a fourth-place schedule after last year’s finish, so they could get hot.
But…that’s hard to see coming out of Monday night, where they let a rookie passer drum up 38 points of offense in Paycor Stadium without a single punt in sight.
Team building woes, compounded by injuries, are spoiling the season in real time for a Bengals team getting some fantastic play out of Burrow.