Christmas came early for the Cincinnati Bengals, as they just got a major gift from the Los Angeles Chargers. By besting the Denver Broncos, 34-27, on Thursday Night Football, the Chargers provided a big boost to Cincinnati's playoff hopes.
In order to qualify for postseason play, the Bengals need to win out, and they need both the Indianapolis Colts and Miami Dolphins to lose at least once. They also needed either the Chargers or Broncos to lose out. It obviously won't be the Chargers now, but that works out better for the Bengals.
Bengals got help from L.A., but there's still plenty of work to do
Assuming they're able to win out, the Bengals have much better odds of making the postseason with a Chargers win than they would have with a Broncos win.
Why tonight's Chargers vs Broncos game is so important for the Bengals. pic.twitter.com/x7mSHTOVjZ
— Goodberry (@JoeGoodberry) December 19, 2024
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Los Angeles' final two games of the season are against the New England Patriots and Las Vegas Raiders. That's two teams well outside of the playoff picture in the AFC and with little to play for outside of pride. In fact, a case could be made that it might even behoove both of those teams to lose out in order to improve their draft position.
On the other hand, Denver's final two games come against the Bengals and the Kansas City Chiefs, who currently have the best record in the NFL. Both of those teams should still have something to play for and thus should be heavily motivated to win.
Plus, the Week 17 matchup between Cincinnati and Denver just got a whole lot more interesting. Both of those teams will be battling for their playoff lives in that one. That game will take place during the afternoon on Saturday, Dec. 28, and the atmosphere in Paycor Stadium should be absolutely electric -- assuming that the Bengals are able to take care of business against the Browns this weekend. If they lose that one, those playoff hopes go out the window and that game with Denver will lose all of its significance.
Moving forward, the plan for Cincinnati fans is easy: Root for the Bengals to win out, root for Denver to lose out, and hope that both the Colts and Dolphins falter at least once. If all that happens, the Bengals will avoid missing out on postseason play for the second consecutive season.