The Cincinnati Bengals would not make the playoffs if the 2021 regular season ended today. They’re now 7-6 after falling in overtime to the San Francisco 49ers and on the outside looking in at the playoff picture.
It’s frustrating, too, as the Bengals had the division lead in their sights after the Ravens lost to the Browns earlier in the day. Now, with the loss, Cincinnati drops to third in the AFC North and would not be in the postseason.
At this point, we have to wonder if this team is ready to compete in the playoffs. They played rather poorly for the majority of this game and gave the Niners 10 points off of turnovers. That’s not something playoff teams do and Cincinnati has to learn how to play clean games consistently.
The good news is that the division is absolutely still winnable for Cincy but their schedule isn’t a joke. They still have games against the Broncos, Ravens, Chiefs, and Browns and none of those are going to be a cakewalk, not even that Denver game, which is next on the schedule.
Following the loss, I corralled three winners and three losers from the 26-23 loss to the 49ers. Let’s start with the three winners from the losing effort.