Predicting the final five games of the Bengals 2022 season

Week 17 vs Bills

The final Monday night game of the year will take place in the Queen City and it'll be against a team that entered the year as the perennial Super Bowl favorites. The Bills are absolutely no slouches and the Bengals will have to bring their A-game in this one.

While I'd love to pick Cincinnati to win this game, I'm not sure that I can. The Bills are one of the most well-put together teams in the league and even with the number of injuries they have, they're used to playing under the bright lights in other teams' stadiums. This will be a close game but the Bills will eek out a win.

Prediction: Bengals lose 24-17

Week 18 vs Ravens

This game could very well decide who wins the AFC North. Hopefully, the Bengals don't lose any games between now and Week 18 because the Ravens, even with an injured Lamar Jackson, have a favorable schedule that could lead to them having the edge.

Right now, the Ravens have the head-to-head advantage after knocking Cincinnati off in Week 5 but that won't matter if both teams have the same record entering this game and the Bengals go on to win. Even if Jackson is back, the Ravens haven't moved the ball well with him at the helm. If the Bengals can get to 20 points, I'm not sure the Ravens will have the offense to keep up with them.

Prediction: Bengals win 35-17

If the schedule falls this way, Cincinnati would be 11-6 on the year and that might be enough to win them the AFC North but it's unlikely they'd earn the No. 1 seed. Some people might be insulted that I picked the Buccaneers to beat the Bengals but this is the time of year where Brady thrives and that's why I did that. Plus, the better team isn't always going to win every game.

What do you think the Bengals' final record will be?