Nick Wright is one of the best in the business when it comes to entertaining sports debates, but that doesn't mean he's right about everything. He's especially off-base when it comes to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Look, it makes sense that a diehard Kansas City Chiefs fan can't see the truth. Wright saw Joe Burrow will the Bengals to an AFC Championship Game win at Arrowhead Stadium a while back, and he nearly beat KC in that same game the following year.
Unfortunately, Burrow has gotten seriously hurt in two of the three ensuing seasons. In the other year, he played like an MVP, but the defense let him down so much that Cincinnati missed the playoffs.
Wright must have Sliding Doors-style flashpoints of fear about how Burrow and the Bengals could've stopped the Chiefs' dynasty in its tracks, had a couple plays here or there gone differently. This is a man in denial who, granted, can't be right about everything or please everyone as a professional sports debater.
Nick Wright's Chiefs fanaticism blinds him to Bengals' impending ascent
People forget that the Bengals, on the heels of their Super Bowl run, were pegged as a prime regression candidate due to the alleged difficulty of their schedule. They rallied from a 0-2 start to come within three points of returning to The Big Game against Wright's beloved Chiefs.
In a mostly wide-open AFC, I get that Wright wants Patrick Mahomes to rally back from his torn ACL to get Kansas City's annual appearance on Conference Championship Weekend train back on track. It's just that, well, the Chiefs don't have as good of a roster as the Bengals do. Full stop.
Combine that with the Bengals' easier schedule (third by Sharp Football's metrics to KC's 10th), and the fact that Burrow is healthier than Mahomes entering 2026, and what's not to like about Cincinnati?
According to Wright on FS1's First Things First, it has to do with, um, *checks notes* all the stuff that happened in previous years, during which, like I said, Burrow was injured for a good chunk of:
See Joe Burrow & the Bengals getting back to the Super Bowl?@getnickwright: “I am stunned at how much attention they are getting… it’s been 4 years since they have played in a playoff game.”@kevinwildes: “When you say it like that, it’s absurd!” 🤣 pic.twitter.com/P8gWeivw2F
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) June 18, 2026
The gist of Wright's argument rests on the caption above, along with the implication that the Bengals are just as comparable to every single other team who hasn't made the playoffs in three seasons.
Guess who's on that list? The Jets, Raiders, Titans, Cardinals, Giants, Falcons, Colts, and Saints.
I mean that is a whopper of a take, eh? Comparing the revamped 2026 Bengals with a healthy Joe Burrow to all those dysfunctional organizations?
I could see the Giants taking a step forward under ex-Ravens coach John Harbaugh. The same goes for the Saints if QB Tyler Shough can maintain his promising trajectory. But will they be anywhere near the Bengals as soon as this year? You couldn't pay me to make that bet, whether I was a fan or not!
To punctuate this segment, Wright said he wouldn't list the Bengals among the first 10 teams to win this year's Super Bowl.
Come on, man. Joe Burrow with even a league-average defense all but guarantees double-digit wins. And if the Bengals are in the dance, Burrow knows how to capitalize. He's 5-2 as a playoff starter.
Can't wait to revisit this take in several months' time. Mark my words: Nick Wright will be wrong.
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