ESPN's Football Powder Index has a disastrous view of the Cincinnati Bengals in 2022
The Cincinnati Bengals, despite reaching the Super Bowl last season, aren't getting much respect from the national media this offseason. Last week, NFL.com's Cynthia Frelund released some predictions for the 2022 season and she has the Bengals missing the playoffs. ESPN's Football Power Index seems to agree with Frelund. The FPI gives Cincinnati the third-worst […]
The Cincinnati Bengals, despite reaching the Super Bowl last season, aren't getting much respect from the national media this offseason.
Last week, NFL.com's Cynthia Frelund released some predictions for the 2022 season and she has the Bengals missing the playoffs.
ESPN's Football Power Index seems to agree with Frelund. The FPI gives Cincinnati the third-worst odds of winning the AFC North, behind the Cleveland Browns and the Baltimore Ravens.
From ESPN:
ESPN's FPI never bought in on the Bengals last season, and even with a model reboot in 2022, it still is awfully skeptical of them. Cincinnati ranks 16th in FPI rating and has the 18th-best chance to win the Super Bowl at 3%.
The model still isn't all the way in on quarterback Joe Burrow. He ranked 12th in Total QBR last season, and despite leading a postseason run, his QBR was still middle-of-the-road during the playoffs. The Bengals' excellent receiving corps and an upgraded offensive line help, but the team's defense is expected to be just OK.
Ultimately, our FPI model gives Cincinnati only the third-best chance to win a closely-contested AFC North at 24%, behind Cleveland (35%) and Baltimore (32%).
I can understand if analysts aren't big on the Bengals returning to the Super Bowl in 2022. I get it. A lot of things had to go right for Cincinnati last season. The Bengals finished the regular season with a 10-7 record, it's not like they dominated all season long. In fact, they weren't that far away from missing the playoffs (and once they got to the playoffs, a terrible decision by Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill helped the team advance to the AFC Championship game).
But suggesting that Joe Burrow isn't for real, or that this team is going to completely miss the playoffs (or finish behind the Browns in the AFC North), seems completely ridiculous.
The Bengals improved their roster this offseason by making some major additions to their offensive line — their biggest weakness in 2022. If anything, the national media should be higher on Cincinnati after the way the season ended and the positive offseason the franchise has had. But they seem to think the Bengals will take a step back in 2022.
Burrow isn't the type of player that needs added motivation to thrive, but it certainly can't hurt. The Bengals will have no shortage of bulletin board material for the 2022 season.
Featured image via Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
