Bengals still last in latest Power Rankings, and that is a good thing for fans

For the Bengals to secure the top pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, holding on to last place in all NFL Power Rankings is critical, as moving up via a win could be a devastating development.

At 0-10, it’s completely logical to see the Cincinnati Bengals dominating the bottom of a few Power Rankings. In the latest edition from Bleacher Report, the Bengals have set up residency at the very bottom and unless something drastic happens, they could be there through the last six games on their schedule.

Despite what some might see as an admirable performance against the Oakland Raiders, Cincinnati continues to languish in last place in the AFC North as well as in the league as a whole. The question now is with a beat-up Pittsburgh Steelers team coming to town in Week 12, can the Bengals keep up the losing drum beat, or finally breakthrough with a win.

For fans all in on 0-16, a win this week would be devastating. With an equally bad Washington Redskins lurking at 1-9, the hope for a draft that brings them a quarterback in the 2020 NFL Draft hangs in the balance. A win or two might actually be more devastating than good for a Bengals team in desperate need of a successor to Andy Dalton.

Cincinnati has six games to go to lock up that top pick. While LSU quarterback Joe Burrow is the current fan favorite, Justin Herbert from Oregon and Chase Young from Ohio State are high on the wish list, but not necessarily in that order. What the Bengals do between Week 12 against the Steelers and Week 17 at home against the up and down Cleveland Browns remain to be seen.

A loss this week keeps, or at least should keep the Bengals at the bottom, keeping hope alive for the top pick. However, the schedule for Cincinnati might be seen as easier than what the Redskins face. Washington still has road games at Carolina, Green Bay, and Dallas to close out the season. Meanwhile, the toughest game for the Bengals is a Week 15 home game against the New England Patriots.

Winning has been a tough proposition for Cincinnati in 2019. The bad news is, it might get easier the last six games of the season.