AFC Playoff Picture, Week 11: Bengals bumped out of wild card spot
After fighting their way into a playoff spot last week, the Cincinnati Bengals are back to being on the outs. The rest of the AFC North would be in the playoffs but the Bengals' 30-27 loss to the Houston Texans led to them being left out of the playoff picture.
Let's take a look at the playoff standings as we head into Week 11.
AFC playoff picture entering Week 11
- Kansas City Chiefs (7-2)
- Baltimore Ravens (7-3)
- Jacksonville Jaguars (6-3)
- Miami Dolphins (6-3)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (6-3)
- Cleveland Browns (6-3)
- Houston Texans (5-4)
In the hunt: Cincinnati Bengals (5-4), Indianapolis Colts (5-5), Buffalo Bills (5-5), Las Vegas Raiders (5-5)
With the Bengals' loss to the Texans, that's now another tiebreaker the good guys don't have. Those tiebreakers are going to become crucial down the stretch, especially if the Bengals don't win the division and have to rely on a wild card spot in order to squeeze into the postseason.
Right now, the Bengals are 1-4 in the conference with losses coming against the Browns, Ravens, Titans, and Texans. Three of those four are in the playoff picture right now and that could end up costing Cincinnati a spot. The good news is that they'll face Baltimore on Thursday night and can avoid a sweep and they'll face Cleveland in the final game of the season.
The Cincinnati Bengals only have themselves to blame for being in this position right now but there are still eight weeks remaining in the regular season. They have plenty of time to right the ship and get themselves back in the playoff picture.
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