Cincinnati Bengals: Gearing up for the Season

Jul 26, 2014; Cincinnati, OH, USA; The Cincinnati Bengals during training camp at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

We are just days away from the Preseason opener in Kansas City against the Chiefs. Andy Dalton has been locked up as the Cincinnati Bengal’s future continues to become clear.

The Bengals enter the 2014 season as the defending AFC North Division Champions. They will certainly have a target on their back from week 1 against Baltimore.

The Bengals have many familiar faces entering into the 2014 season. They also have a good, solid rookie class in Jeremy Hill and Darqueze Dennard and as we get closer to the season, their roles on this team will become crystal clear.

They are looking stronger on the run and they are continuing to strengthen the defensive back field but with a tough schedule ahead, they will need to be better this season on both sides of the ball.

They will face offensive powers in the New Orleans Saints, New England Patriots in New England, and the Denver Broncos. They can’t afford to look past the beatable teams like the Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, and even the 2 Cleveland Browns games, in which they split the past 2 years and have gone 5-3 in the past 4 years.

The Bengals will have some uphill battles in order to retain their division title in 2014 but it is not out of the question. If they find a way to continue their dominance at home, and figure out how to get some key division wins on the road, this Bengals team should be 10-6 maybe even 11-5 at the end of the season. That should be enough to win the division and should be at least good enough to earn a spot in their fourth playoff appearance in a row.