Close AFC Leaves Bengals Playoff Hopes Alive

Oct 14, 2012; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis before the game against the Cleveland Browns at Cleveland Browns Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-US PRESSWIRE

With all of the scrutiny in Cincinnati lately being headed by Bengals banter; it may be time for a reality check to bring some hope back to the Queen City. The Bengals have found themselves in another up and down season, leaving the fans questioning if there is even hope to repeat the success that they had last year. Currently, with the poor play on game day, it doesn’t seem possible.

As Cincinnati dropped their third game in a row to Pittsburgh a week ago, fans covered their eyes in embarrassment and disbelief. A collective sigh fell over the stadium and heads hung low as fans retreated to their homes. Bengals fans can only wonder why their team can’t make seem to put together two back to back playoff berths, why their team seems to fall when they need them the most. With a record of 3-4 and falling back a slot in the AFC North division, it seems like all hope is lost.

But, with the El Nino like conditions in the NFL this season, should the fans hang up their jerseys and call the season a loss? The answer is no. Just like El Nino, one never knows what tomorrow is going to bring. There is still a lot of football left. Nine games to be exact, for the Bengals. Though, the back half of the schedule won’t be as comfortable as the first half, it is still manageable with the right calls and improved play.

Out of the sixteen teams in the AFC, six of the teams are sitting on three wins. That is almost half of the teams. Four teams are sitting on four wins, two teams on five wins, and only one with a commanding six wins. Of the four division leaders, only one team has only one loss. The rest are all tightly muddled together with two and three losses.

If the playoffs were to start today, the Bengals would be out of the wild card hunt by only one game. That isn’t so bad, coming into a full second half of football with a wide open conference. There may still be hope, but the team will have to fix their offensive problems if they want to contend. This is not going to be an easy task, but it is one that can be done with all of the talent on this team.

Let’s take a look at the schedule the team faces going forward and their records, as of today.

Home – Denver Broncos, 4-3
Home – New York Giants, 6-2
Away – Kansas City Chiefs, 1-6
Home – Oakland Raiders, 3-4
Away – San Diego Chargers, 3-4
Home – Dallas Cowboys, 3-4
Away – Philadelphia Eagles, 3-4
Away – Pittsburgh Steelers, 4-3
Home – Baltimore Ravens, 5-2

That is only four teams, out of the nine with winning records. Out of those four teams, two teams have only one more win than the Bengals to start the second half of play. On paper, alone, that leaves the season wide open for the Bengals in the AFC. Their chances of improving their record to get themselves in playoff contention are high, by just glancing at this schedule.

However, like I said before, this team is going to have to improve and stay dominant in games. Andy Dalton will have to get his turnover ratio under control and the defense will have to step up to make opposing quarterbacks think twice about going through the air on them. If any team can do it, though, it is this team. Cincinnati just needs to believe. The season isn’t over until it is over.