Bengals would make more NFL history with a playoff berth
The Cincinnati Bengals proved last year that an 0-2 start isn't always a death sentence. They were able to overcome massive odds by not only making the playoffs, but winning an AFC North crown. With a second straight 0-2 start in the books, just making the playoffs again would be a miracle. According to Good Morning […]
The Cincinnati Bengals proved last year that an 0-2 start isn't always a death sentence. They were able to overcome massive odds by not only making the playoffs, but winning an AFC North crown.
With a second straight 0-2 start in the books, just making the playoffs again would be a miracle.
According to Good Morning Football host Jason McCourty, never before has a team that started 0-2 in back-to-back seasons and made the playoffs in each season.
The Bengals are the only team eligible to do it this year, and they'd be the only team to ever accomplish such a feat.
What the Bengals did in 2022 cannot be appreciated enough. Starting so sluggish out the gate with a quarterback still recovering to full strength put them in a hole no club in the 14-team playoff format era had ever been able to climb out of. Hell, even after 0-2 they were 4-4 at one point and 0-3 in the division.
Those teams don't make the playoffs, let alone the conference championship game. The Bengals proved to be different, but it's not a sustainable way to survive through a season.
The obvious hindrance against Cincinnati pulling off the impossible here is Joe Burrow's calf, which may or may not cause him to miss time after he aggravated it on Sunday against the Ravens. If Burrow misses any games at all, the likelihood of the Bengals returning to the postseason drops as close to zero as possible.
But if they defy the odds once more and make NFL history, we'll know exactly how substantial their achievement would be.
Sportsbooks remain optimistic about Bengals’ next game despite 0-2 start
Cincinnati opens Week 3 as a big favorite.
Featured image via © Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
