The Cincinnati Bengals are poised to reclaim their place atop the AFC North in 2026, a perch they haven't sat on since the 2022 season.
This is the ultimate put up or shut up year in Cincinnati. Joe Burrow is healthy at the dawn of training camp. The team has an actual defense, at least on paper. Excuses are few and far between if this roster Burrow has thoroughly hyped can't get it done.
In the two years the Bengals made deep playoff runs, the Baltimore Ravens' two-time MVP quarterback, Lamar Jackson, was limited to 12 games. They almost won in Cincinnati with Tyler Huntley at QB in the Wild Card Round during the Bengals' last run to the AFC title game.
So yeah, there should be a chip on Cincinnati's collective shoulder. A new set of NFL predictions suggest the Bengals' ascent to divisional supremacy could extend well beyond this year, too.
Ravens forecast to miss the playoffs, triggering heated speculation about Lamar Jackson's future
SB Nation's Jarrett Bailey did an admirable job in compiling a list of 61 NFL predictions for the upcoming season. Some of them are straightforward enough (division champs); others are hilarious and absurd in their specificity.
I've been there, man. Predicting actual final scores for games that are months away. You're kind of just saying things to say them. But that's part of the fun. Don't twist this into me deriding Jarrett's Nostradamus routine. I'm quite thrilled with how he sees the Ravens' fate unfolding!
Get a load of this: Baltimore is among the surprise teams to miss the playoffs. That'd be two years in row. Almost to the Bengals' three-season drought! And here's the skinny on how that causes some Lamar Jackson-related controversy:
"The Ravens’ offense is quietly just...mediocre? Lamar Jackson is obviously fantastic, but it would be wishful thinking at best to assume he’ll play close to the level we saw in 2024. Their pass-catchers are a bottom half of the league unit. [...] After the Ravens come just shy of making the postseason in Year One of the Minter era, and for the second consecutive year, many wonder what the future holds for Lamar Jackson. The two-time MVP will enter the final year of his current deal in 2027. Does Baltimore look elsewhere at quarterback options and ship Jackson away?"
I wouldn't make that big of a deal out of this normally, but bear in mind a few things. First, Jackson negotiates his own contracts. Second, he was almost traded from the Ravens before he scored his last megabucks payday. Third, in the ensuing time span, Jackson has choked multiple times more in the playoffs.
Oh, and although Jackson is a far better pure passer than other dual-threat QBs who've come before him, his game won't age well as purer pocket guys like, say, Joe Burrow.
If the Ravens do indeed miss the postseason and Jackson plays at a stellar but not elite level, it's feasible that Baltimore could sell high on him. The trade market for Lamar would be absolutely bananas.
We could see quite the QB carousel upheaval next offseason. The futures of Baker Mayfield, C.J. Stroud and Bryce Young are far from secure. Aaron Rodgers is retiring after one last ride for the Steelers. Nobody knows what the heck is going on with the Browns' QB situation between Shedeur Sanders and human trash receptacle Deshaun Watson.
All this is great news for Cincinnati. I was among those who feared a Joe Burrow trade demand would be in place when last season unraveled. It'd take an unprecedented offseason from the organization to prevent that. Thank goodness the front office delivered.
Now, with the only intact coaching staff in the division and this potential Ravens disaster unfolding, the Bengals are poised to own the North. With a healthy, prime Joe Shiesty, Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Dexter Lawrence and DJ Turner, darn near anything feels possible.
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