How Many Games Will The Bengals Win This Season?

The Cincinnati Bengals are coming off of a 10-6 regular season record and a trip to the playoffs for the second year in-a-row. The Bengals have a tough schedule this year, but a lot of NFL “experts” are saying that they will make the playoffs, and possibly even the Super Bowl.

The Bengals have never won the Super Bowl (thanks, San Francisco) but for the first time in a long time, they have a decent shot at it. They’re not the best team in the NFL, and really, they’re probably not even the best team in the AFC North; however, if they can pull a few upsets and play great football, as they are expected to, they could wind up celebrating in New York City in February.

In Week One, the Bengals will make the trip to Solider Field to play the Bears in the Windy City. It’s always tough for a visiting team to play against the Bears, and the Bears are usually a pretty good team. However, I think the Bengals will win this game 24-14.

In Week Two, one of the biggest rivalries in the AFC will take place when the Cincinnati Bengals play host to the Pittsburgh Steelers on ESPN’s Monday Night Football.  The Bengals never do very well against the Steelers, but this year Black and Yellow is without guys like James Harrison and Mike Wallace. The Bengals will be pumped for this game, it’ll be their home opener, they will be playing their first night game of the year, and they will be on ESPN. With all that being said, I think the Bengals will beat the Steelers, 28-20.

The Bengals will have a real challenge week three when they host Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. For the last five-or-so years, the Packers have been one of the best teams in the NFL, and they probably will be again this year. The Bengals have a great defense, but I don’t think it will be good enough to stop Aaron Rodgers and the Packers’ offense, Green Bay will win 24-10.

On September 29, the Bengals will play their fourth game of the season and it will be against their conference-rivals, the pitiful Cleveland Browns. The Brows, for a lack of better terms, suck. The Bengals will stomp the Browns in Cleveland, 33-14.

Week Five will be an interesting game, the Bengals will play host to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. The Pats have had a lot of distractions this off-season, Aaron Hernandez’s arrest, ESPN’s 24/7 coverage of Tim Tebow, etc. But, the Patriots, even without any great receivers, will still win a lot of games this year, including the one against Cincinnati. The final score will be 28-10.

In Week Six, the Bengals will fly up to Buffalo to eat some wings and play the Bills. The Bills are a young team for the most part, they have a very bright future, but not a very bright present. The Bengals are a much better team than the Bills and will win, 31-20.

In Week Seven, it will be the battle of the over-sized cats, as the Detroit Lions play host to the Cincinnati Bengals at Ford Field. The Lions are actually a pretty decent team, they might be a sleeper in the NFC this year. However, I think they still need to work on things before they are a real threat. I see the Bengals winning a close game, 24-21.

The Bengals’s eight game of the season will be an interesting one, they will play host to the butt-fumbling Mark Sanchez, the cry-baby, agent-firing, Geno Smith, and the rest of the New York Jets. The Jets are always one of the most over-hyped team in the NFL every single year. I don’t see them as a threat this year, the Bengals will win 20-10.

In Week Nine, the Bengals will play in their first Thursday Night Football game of the season, when they go down to Miami to take on the Dolphins. The Dolphins are a decent team, they have a lot of young talent and a lot of underrated players, but I think the Bengals will be able to handle them, and win the game, 31-21.

On November the 10, in Week 10, the Bengals will make the short flight over to Maryland to take on the Defending Super Bowl Champs, the Baltimore Ravens. In my opinion, the Ravens will be the winners of the AFC North this year, they don’t have many superstar players, but they are a very solid team, even without Ray Lewis on defense. I think the Ravens will beat Cincy in a low-scoring game, 17-10.

In Week 11 the Cleveland Browns will come to town to take on the Bengals. Remember what I said about the Browns? Well, I think the Bengals will beat them again, 35-21.

The Bengals will enjoy their BYE week during Week 12, at this point the Bengals will be 8-3, pretty good.

Cincinnati will come off of their BYE week in Week 13 when they travel to San Diego to take on the Chargers. The Chargers aren’t as great as they used to be, but they are still very good. Phillip Rivers, I think, will have one of the best seasons he has had as a Bolt, and San Diego will win 24-17. Stay classy, San Diego.

In Week 14, the Indianapolis Colts will make the very short trip to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals. The Colts are a team on the rise, Andrew Luck, like Andy Dalton, is one of the best young quarterbacks in all of football. This will be Luck’s 2nd season of pro-football, and it should be a good one. However, I see the Bengals’ defense pressuring Luck a lot in this game, and the Bengals winning a close game, 27-24.

On December 15, in Week 15, the Bengals will travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers on NBC’s Sunday Night Football (subject to change). The Steelers will be seeking revenge against the Bengals, and I think, unfortunately, they will get it and defeat Cincinnati, 28-13.

In Week 16, Adrian Peterson, arguably the best running back in the NFL, and the Minnesota Vikings will come to the Queen City to play the Bengals. The Vikings, like the Bengals, made the playoffs last season as a wildcard team. This will be a good game, Peterson will do some damage against the Bengals defensive line, but the Cincinnati secondary will do their job and give Christian Ponder fits. The Bengals will win a high-scoring game, 34-31.

In the final game of the year, the Bengals will play host to the Baltimore Ravens. At this point, the Bengals will be 10-5, and in-search for their 11th win of the season. I think Andy Dalton and AJ Green will put up a lot of points in this game, and upset the Ravens, 28-13.

So there you go, I predict the Cincinnati Bengals as a 11-5 team. I think they will make the playoffs as a wildcard team, and hopefully do a lot of damage in the playoffs.

Give us your Bengals predictions by tweeting @RiverfrontBall or by tweeting me, @CoopLed.