It seemed like the Cincinnati Bengals had found new life when they made the trade for Joe Flacco. Immediately productive in his first outing, he seemed to have found his footing by his second game as a franchise member, leading them to a commanding win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
With a game against the 0-7 New York Jets next on the docket, it seemed like the hopes of making a playoff run were alive once again for the Bengals.
A wide-open AFC North could allow them to take their time with Joe Burrow and ensure that he returns to full health. Or, at least, that was the hope going into the game. Coming out of the encounter, that hope may have been extinguished in lightning-quick fashion, as the Bengals became the unfortunate team to give the Jets their first win of the season.
That left just one question: could Cincinnati remain in the playoff hunt?
Cincinnati Bengals Playoff Chances
Due to the injury to Burrow, the chances for the team were never going to be extremely high. Entering the game, they had a 30.5% chance to make it happen. But that result may have been in large part due to the failures of the division as a whole.
But, after a mind-melting collapse against New York, those odds have fallen to just 15.90%, according to PFSN’s Playoff Predictor. It wasn’t just their loss, though, that caused such a shake-up.
Instead, the Baltimore Ravens, despite playing the game without Lamar Jackson, were able to pull off a victory over the Chicago Bears. The win brought them just one game behind the Bengals, with both head-to-head matchups remaining.
Cincinnati’s loss, though, was hard to put into words. Going into the fourth quarter, they had a commanding 31-16 lead. For a Jets team that was failing to put any points on the board, that seemed like a recipe for victory for the Bengals.
However, in a miraculous turn of events, New York scored three touchdowns in the final period, including converting on two 2-point attempts, paving the way for an improbable 39-38 victory.
Undeniably, the blame fell on a Cincinnati defense that ranked second-last in the league on PFSN’s Defense Impact coming into the game and was only going to walk out with a worse rating afterward.
At 3-5, the chances of making a run to the postseason aren’t out of the question entirely. But the journey is only about to get harder, thanks to the lead the Pittsburgh Steelers have over them, and a healthy Ravens squad with Jackson back at the helm.
