The odds were stacked against the Cincinnati Bengals making the playoffs after their 0-3 start to the 2024 NFL season, and understandably so. After all, only six teams in league history have gone on to qualify for postseason play after such a start, but that clearly hasn't stopped the Bengals from trying to become the seventh team ever.
Since that rough three-game stretch to start the season that included in uninspired loss to the New England Patriots in the opener, the Bengals have won three out of their last four games to move to 3-4 on the season after seven weeks of action. In the process, the Bengals have climbed back into the playoff picture in the competitive AFC, and that's reflected by the odds.
Bengals now have over 50 percent chance to make playoffs
Based on The Athletic's updating projection model, Cincinnati's odds of making the playoffs now sit at 51 percent following their Week 7 win over the New York Giants. Their odds have steadily increased since that 0-3 start.
Six teams in the AFC currently have better odds of making the postseason than the Bengals: the Chiefs, Bills, Texans, Ravens, Chargers and Steelers. Since seven teams in each conference make the playoffs, that means that the Bengals are on indeed on track to do so, according to the projection.
One thing working in Cincinnati's favor moving forward is their remaining schedule. Heading into Week 7, the Bengals had the third-easiest remaining schedule in the entire league, behind only the New Orleans Saints and New York Jets. In addition to their remaining division games, the Bengals will also still play the Raiders, Chargers, Eagles, Cowboys, Broncos and Tennessee Titans. There are certainly some winnable games there.
But, while Cincinnati'a odds of making the playoffs are basically a coin flip at this point according to The Athletic's model, their odds of winning the division aren't quite so high as they have just a 13 percent chance of finishing on top of the AFC North. Given how good both the Ravens and Steelers have looked so far this season, it makes sense that Cincinnati's chances of besting both of those teams in the record department is slim.
As far as for winning the Super Bowl, the Bengals currently have a two percent chance of doing so, which obviously isn't very high, but a slim chance is still better than no chance.