The Cincinnati Bengals boosted their playoff chances slightly with the Week 6 win over the New York Giants — and one former quarterback isn’t counting them out of the postseason hunt just yet.
ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky said this week that the Bengals (and New York Jets after the trade for Davante Adams) are the 2-4 teams he thinks still make the playoffs in the AFC: “The most fascinating thing for me right now in the AFC playoff picture is, I think two 2-4 teams get in. I believe the Jets and the Bengals will get in.”
The AFC is a mess, so it’s not all that wild. Two 3-3 teams currently sit in range of the seventh seed. There are four teams with just two wins. And seeds 3-5 all boast 4-2 records. Just four of the 16 teams are better than 2-2 in conference play right now.
Then there’s the AFC North. The Browns are rudderless at 1-5. The Ravens and Steelers are both 4-2, but the Bengals have already played the former close and there’s still an expectation the latter comes back down to Earth. It’s a steep climb, but not impossible.
Of course, the Bengals will need to actually start playing complete games. The offense that put up 33 or more points in three straight games disappeared in New York on Sunday night while the defense got healthier and more effective.
But with games against Cleveland, Philadelphia and Las Vegas before the Week 10 rematch with the Ravens, the Bengals have a chance to balance things out and play at a high level while reviving that 2-4 record into something more manageable.
