Bengals continue to look like title contender
The Cincinnati Bengals have been a good team for years, but they have always been expected to fall flat on their postseason faces. Over the past four seasons, that has been exactly the case for a group too talented to miss the playoffs, but too flawed to do anything positive once it got there.
In 2015, everything appears to be much, much different. Cincinnati is 8-0 after its Thursday Night Football win over the Cleveland Browns at Paul Brown Stadium. The score was only 14-10 at halftime and it appeared the Browns might be able to pull off the upset, but the Cincinnati defense and Andy Dalton’s hot hand put those notions to rest. Dalton threw 27 passes and only six hit the ground all night, throwing for 237 yards and a trio of touchdowns, all to tight end Tyler Eifert.
The Bengals only sacked Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel three times, but he was harassed throughout the evening. Manziel very seldom was allowed to set his feet within the pocket and make a throw, leading to a line of 15-of-33 for 168 yards. Manziel was overwhelmed and could not overcome the pressure, something that led to zero points and only one first down in the second half.
At this point, the Bengals would need an utter collapse to lose the AFC North. Going into Friday morning, Cincinnati has a six-game lead on both the Browns and Baltimore Ravens, and a four-game lead on the Pittsburgh Steelers. If the Bengals beat the Houston Texans at home next Sunday, they will officially put the Ravens and Browns on the brink of being eliminated before Thanksgiving.
The only question for the Bengals left to be answered before the playoffs is whether Cincinnati can earn a first-round playoff BYE. Under Marvin Lewis, the Bengals have been to the postseason six times and has never been to the divisional round. Getting a BYE would put the Bengals in tremendous position to at least win one playoff game and perhaps reach the Super Bowl for the first time since 1988, back when head coach Sam Wyche and quarterback Boomer Esiason were running the show.
Currently, Cincinnati has a half-game lead over the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots for the top seed in the AFC. Yet the Broncos visit the struggling Indianapolis Colts and the Patriots host the lowly Washington Redskins this week, so it is a good bet that all three remain undefeated going into Week 10.
Regardless, the Bengals are showing they are for real. This is a team that should be expected to make strides in the postseason, winning a playoff game for the first time since 1991. No longer are these the Bungals. This is a legitimate football team that could beat anybody in any building.
