Expect a .500 record for this Cincinnati Bengals team.
The Cincinnati Bengals have done what any NFL franchise needs to do to be successful. They’ve found their franchise quarterback. Now, they need to surround him with weapons. Chase is a good start. Adding three offensive linemen in the most recent NFL Draft was wise, but have you looked around the rest of their division?
Those of you who are calling the NFC West football’s toughest division might want to give the AFC North another look. In 2020, three of the division’s four teams made the postseason, and the Cleveland Browns, a team that ended the regular season with an 11-5 record and finished in third place (think about that for a second), will play a third-place schedule in 2021.
The Baltimore Ravens aren’t going anywhere. Neither are the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Will Cincinnati win this division? They probably won’t, but if they can rattle off two or more wins versus their rivals and if they can find a few unexpected wins elsewhere, this Bengals team, one that won four games and earned a tie in 2020, can very well climb over .500 with the 17-game schedule and one of their rivals taking a step backward.