The Cleveland Browns went into the tank last night, losing 30-10 to Philadelphia and falling to 4-10. As hard as it is to believe considering the Cincinnati Bengals’ atrocious season, that means it’s still possible that the Bengals will finish ahead of, and thus pick behind, the Browns next April.
| Pick | Team | Record | Remaining Games |
| 2 | St. Louis Rams | 2-12 | San Francisco, @ Atlanta |
| 3 | Kansas City Chiefs | 2-12 | Miami, @ Cincinnati |
| 4 | Cincinnati Bengals | 2-11-1 | @ Cleveland, Kansas City |
| 5 | Seattle Seahawks | 3-11 | New York Jets, @ Arizona |
| 6 | Oakland Raiders | 3-11 | Houston, @ Tampa Bay |
| 7 | Cleveland Browns | 4-10 | Cincinnati, @ Pittsburgh |
Headed into week 16, the Bengals hold the fourth overall pick in the 2009 draft — but are just half a game ahead of Seattle and Oakland, and half a game behind St. Louis and Kansas City. They can pick no lower than seventh, and no higher than second. Both of their remaining games are against teams (in italic) also in the running for a top seven or eight selection.
The chances of Cincinnati slipping further down the draft ladder are depressingly good. The Browns appear to be falling apart, just as I feared last month. And the Chiefs out-bungled the Bungles last weekend, surrendering a double-digit lead in the final 73 seconds and losing 22-21 to the struggling Chargers. Moreover, of the teams currently picking between two and seven:
- only Cincinnati finishes the season at home;
- the Bengals are the only team which doesn’t face at least one playoff-bound or potentially playoff-bound team in the final two weeks, and;
- only the Chiefs play that game at home.
Of course, the playoff factor could work for or against Cincinnati, depending on who might be resting starters ahead of the postseason.
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