Bengals playoff hopes? Five Reasons Why Joe Burrow, Cincy Won’t Make It

On By Littum

game

Before Cincinnati Bengalsit’s simply Tee little, Tee late.

Thanks to three touchdown catches by blossoming wideout Tee Higgins, including a 3-yarder with 67 seconds left in overtime, the Stripes ran their winning streak to four Saturday and outlasted the fading Denver Broncos 30-24 in overtime of a game, ​​that was both wildly entertaining and annoying at times to watch from a strategic point of view. Quarterback Joe Burrow’s brilliance — fueled by the heroics of Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase, the league’s best wideout duo — was a reminder that football fans would be pleased to see Cincy qualify for the playoffs for the third time in four seasons. .

“I don’t know that anybody can stand on the field and look at Joe Burrow and say he’s not the best player in the world,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said after Saturday’s win, when his superstar QB passed for 412 yards and three TDs .

“The clearest thing I can say is that I wouldn’t trade Joe Burrow for any player in the universe.”

That may be exactly why other NFL teams — and certainly those still Super Bowl viable — don’t want to see Cincy get a shot at the Lombardi Trophy this season, which is why Saturday’s drama almost certainly did nothing but take away Cincinnati by euthanasia after the season.

According to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats, the Bengals have a 13% chance to grab the AFC’s final wild card spot. But these five reasons suggest that analytical assessment may be overly optimistic:

The Bengals still need to beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh

The only component left in Cincinnati’s narrow playoff path it can control is winning at Acrisure Stadium in Week 18. The Steelers have beaten the Bengals three straight and four of the last five. They have also taken six of the last eight in Pittsburgh. Russell Wilson looked like a man in his prime as he passed for 414 yards and three touchdowns in the Steelers’ 44-38 triumph at Paycor Stadium four weeks ago.

And it’s not like Pittsburgh, which has already punched its playoff ticket, can afford to send it in during the regular-season finale — the team is still trying to win the AFC North and the privilege of hosting a postseason game at the confluence of Three rivers. The Steelers have also lost three straight but will have had 11 days to prepare for Cincinnati as they try to get back into coach Mike Tomlin’s good graces after he bemoaned a “junior varsity” effort that “sucked” during his team’s 29-10 Jul. Day loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Of course, the Bengals are certainly capable of clubbing their division rivals on the road. But that’s a semi-high bar, and unfortunately for them, it’s only part of the formula they need to fall into place.

“We know we can hang with anybody, we’ve proven that this year,” Burrow said Saturday, his game-winning throw to Higgins quarterback’s league-leading 42nd TD pass.

“We’ve played close to every team – it’s just about getting through the games to win those games. Today we did, the last four weeks we have and we have to continue to do that.”

The Colts need to lose at least once

Based on opposition winning percentage, Indianapolis owns the league’s easiest remaining schedule (Giants, Jaguars). But the Bengals may have already caught a break now that Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson has been ruled out of Sunday’s game in New York. Still… it’s the Giants.

The Dolphins must lose at least once

Based on opposition winning percentage, Miami owns the league’s sixth-easiest remaining schedule (Browns, Jets). But perhaps the Bengals have already caught a break now that Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has been downgraded to questionable for Sunday’s game in Cleveland. Still… it’s the Browns.

NFL PLAYOFF PHOTO: Where things stand for Cincinnati

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Internal problems of the Bengalis

Taylor praised his defense’s pair of stops against the Broncos in overtime. But this is a unit that started the day allowing the fifth-most points and fifth-most yards in the league, allowed Denver rookie Bo Nix to complete two game-tying touchdown passes in the fourth quarter and has consistently undermined what Burrow considered to be the league’s best offense.

Still, there are problems there, too — Burrow was sacked seven times Saturday, the No. 1 running back, Chase Brown, who suffered an ankle injury, and Taylor’s clock management at the end of regulation leaves something to be desired.

As talented as this team is, it has always found ways to remain without a championship 56 years into its existence.

Broncos must lose in Kansas City

This might be the real kicker…and I don’t mean Cade York.

Denver hosts the reigning champions in Week 18 and needs a win or tie to reach the postseason for the first time since Peyton Manning retired as champion nine years ago after Super Bowl 50. These are also the same Chiefs who needed a blocked field goal on the final play at Arrowhead in Week 10 to beat the Broncos 16-14.

Kind of.

After blasting the Steelers, KC already owns the No. 1. There is almost no incentive for them to play Patrick Mahomes or Travis Kelce or Chris Jones or DeAndre Hopkins – and the list goes on. Not only that, but few teams have given Mahomes as much trouble as the Bengals have over the years, especially an overtime win at Kansas City in the 2021 AFC Championship Game. The Chiefs don’t need that kind of thorn in their playoff bracket — especially since they would host Cincinnati in their postseason opener. if the now-scorching Bengals enter the field and win their wild-card matchup (which would likely be against the Bills in Buffalo).

If only the Bengals hadn’t somehow managed to lose to the Jacoby Brissett-led New England Patriots on opening day in the midst of a 1-4 start that could otherwise be explained away to some degree. If only Higgins, their franchise player in 2024 and a man likely to get a much bigger payday in 2025 — he has 10 touchdowns in the past nine games — hadn’t missed five games due to injury.

“We’ve known we’ve had a good football team all along and those games are disappointing that we fell short. It didn’t change our process. It didn’t change what our guys believed in,” Taylor said Saturday.

“We still believed in what we were doing.”

It’s just hard to believe that will ultimately be enough for a team that might finally be playing well enough to win it all — even if Tee late matters.

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Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Davis on X, formerly Twitter, @ByNateDavis.