During the 2021-2022 NFL season, the Cincinnati Bengals have home dates versus the Minnesota Vikings, the Los Angeles Chargers, the Green Bay Packers, and the San Francisco 49ers. There are road dates versus the Las Vegas Raiders and Chicago Bears, and as you know, Soldier Field is always a tough place to play regardless of what Chicago’s record is.
Oh, and who can forget about the divisional games? In an always competitive AFC North where many NFL pundits are projecting a last-place finish for Cincy, the Bengals have their annual two-game series versus the Baltimore Ravens, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Clevland Browns.
Now, how many of you read all of that (or thought about it at some point), and said “no problem”? Well, if you’re skeptical about the possibilities, hopefully, this will fire you up.
The Cincinnati Bengals are getting a little love.
Recently, the prognosticators have been pretty generous with the win totals. As far as we know, Chad Johnson aka Ochocinco might be a little biased, but he’s predicting eight wins or more. Well, it looks like someone else agrees. Recently, CBS sports’ John Breech went through Cincy’s schedule with a fine-tooth comb, and he came up with nine wins.
That includes a 2-0 start, season splits with both the Steelers and Browns and a tight road win over the Raiders. Here’s some of what Breech had to say on the subject.
"Offensively, not only should the Bengals line be better, but Burrow also has a fun new offensive weapon in the form of Ja’Marr Chase… Basically, there are a lot of reasons why the Bengals should win substantially more games this year, and the biggest reason is that their team is better…Am I trying to talk myself into a Bengals playoff berth? Maybe…"
After five straight sub-.500 seasons, a nine-win run might be cause for celebration, but the question is this. Will that be enough to get them into the postseason as a Wild Card team?
The most recent draft brought with it a few guys to get excited about. Think Ja’Marr Chase, Jackson Carman, and Joseph Ossai if you need any examples. Though the Bengals may not be ready to challenge the best teams in the AFC yet, they seem to be on the right track.
If Joe Burrow is one-hundred percent healthy, he could continue his arc towards being one of the game’s better passers. The roar at Paul Brown Stadium isn’t quite what we remember when the Cincinnati Bengals get on a roll, but if Ocho and Breech are correct in their analysis, the 2021-2022 campaign could be something to get excited about. The Who Dey Nation could have a lot to cheer about come the regular season.