The Cincinnati Bengals are 3-2 heading into their Week 6 BYE, after they beat the Miami Dolphins 31-24 on Sunday. Joe Burrow and the offense were highly efficient, with Burrow throwing for four touchdowns in the game, while his counterpart, Malik Willis, really struggled, throwing two interceptions.
Despite winning on Sunday and their 3-2 record, the Bengals are actually at the bottom of the AFC North after five weeks. The Ravens are 4-1, and the Browns and Steelers are both 3-2, but Cincinnati is 0-1 in the division.
However, Cincinnati remains one of the favourites to win the North, with most around the league seeing them as Baltimore's biggest challengers to win the division.
Looking more widely at the AFC, it seems like the regular contenders have made themselves known again. The Bills just got to 4-1 with a stunning overtime win against the LA Rams, Kansas City remain undefeated after their BYE week, and Lamar Jackson and the Ravens look like one of the teams to beat.
We could be on for seeing the likes of Burrow, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen and Jackson all in the playoffs again, although the Bengals need to ensure they keep up.
Supercomputer backs the Bengals in the AFC
Before the season, we did an article covering the Opta Supercomputer, which predicted the Bengals were the second favourites in the AFC, behind last year's Super Bowl runners up the New England Patriots.
Despite the Bengals recording two losses in a row before this week, Cincinnati is still one of the favoured teams based on what the supercomputer predicts.
According to Opta, Cincy are the second-most likely AFC team to win the Super Bowl, behind just the Patriots. It gives the Bengals a 6.83% chance to win the AFC, which is ahead of Baltimore (6.80%), Kansas City (5.15%), and Buffalo (5.10%).
The Supercomputer also ranks the Bengals as the best team in the AFC according to its adjusted rankings. Their Team Rating Adjusted for Conference and Roster (TRACR) rankings have the Bengals at the top of the conference, due to how they've performed so far and in the context of their remaining schedule.
This may come as a surprise, considering that both Jacksonville and Pittsburgh beat us; however, in both of those games, Cincinnati could have easily won, and if they were 5-0, then the whole of the NFL media would consider them one of, if not the best teams in the entire league. Reasons to be cheerful heading into the BYE.
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