The Cincinnati Bengals have injected themselves into mainstream NFL debates thanks to one of the greatest offseasons in franchise history. At least on paper, this is looking like a Super Bowl-caliber roster.
Disagree if you like, non-Bengals fans, but if a healthy Joe Burrow has mere competency on defense to complement him, double-digit wins are a virtual certainty. That's especially so when you consider the relative ease of Cincinnati's 2026 schedule.
All these factors and more are drawing many experts toward the Bengals' bandwagon.
Dan Graziano makes bold Bengals proclamation after 2026 NFL schedule release
In his biggest takeaways from the 2026 NFL schedule, ESPN's Dan Graziano asserted that it's *not* an overreaction to believe the Bengals will return to the AFC Championship Game:
"Only four of their games are against teams that had winning records last season -- the Texans, the Jaguars and two against the Steelers. The defense should be better, given all of the moves the Bengals have made there, and each of the other three teams in their division is in a transition phase with a new head coach. The defending division-champion Steelers don't even know yet if 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers is coming back or if they have to go with some combination of Mason Rudolph, Will Howard and Drew Allar at quarterback. There is a major opportunity here for the Bengals, as they've fielded a championship-caliber offense every year Burrow has stayed healthy. They just need the other side of the ball to start chipping in again."
All good points here, Danny G!
While measuring the difficulty of the schedule by last year's opponent winning percentage is an antiquated notion that still gets gassed up as legit for some reason, some bad teams from 2025 will inevitably stay bad. Not to rain on the parade of optimism that pervades every fanbase this time of year, but that's just the truth of it.
As Graziano alludes to, two of the teams that are coming off winning seasons are the Steelers and Jags. The former indeed has a terrible quarterback situation, while Jacksonville just had one of the worst drafts in history if the consensus reactions are anything to go by.
Plus, the Bengals finally get to host the Ravens in prime time for the first time in five years. Although opponents like Baltimore and Kansas City (on Taylor Swift's birthday) should be expected to bounce back with winning records, it might not matter if the Bengals can just get one or two stops every now and then for Joe Schiesty.
The arrival of Dexter Lawrence alone at defensive tackle should do wonders for Cincinnati's maligned D. Never mind the addition of ex-Chiefs safety Bryan Cook, who provides stability to that position that the Bengals haven't enjoyed since Jessie Bates' heyday (see you in Madrid, Jessie).
Why should Cincinnati fans be so confident with the most modest of defensive improvement in 2026? Because Burrow is 11-6 in his last 17 starts in spite of how bad the defense has been, not to mention, I came across this compelling stat that underscores how much Joe Brrr has overcome to drag the Bengals to relevancy:
Burrow is 38-10 when the defense gives up less than 25 points.
— The wanderer (@thewanderer2020) May 15, 2026
So yeah, in a wide-open AFC, the Conference Championship Game doesn't seem too far-fetched as long as Burrow stays upright.
Add us as a preferred source on Google