The Bengals took a step in the right direction on Sunday, with Joe Burrow and JaMarr Chase connecting on 3 TDs, but I’m still nervous about their ability to truly get back into the race. They didn’t get any favors from the schedulers.
They’ve got to play the Ravens and Browns again; those defenses are going to be good all year. They’ve also still got to play San Francisco, Buffalo and Kansas City, along with a pair against the Steelers, who can play them tough.
In terms of wins and losses, Cincinnati’s remaining opponents are 35-23 – the best in the league when we look at the final 13 weeks of the season.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE, WINS (Wks 6-18) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Team | Win | Loss | Pct |
Detroit | 23 | 35 | .397 |
Green Bay | 23 | 35 | .397 |
Atlanta | 24 | 34 | .414 |
Houston | 24 | 34 | .414 |
Chicago | 25 | 33 | .431 |
New Orleans | 26 | 33 | .441 |
Indianapolis | 26 | 32 | .448 |
Pittsburgh | 26 | 32 | .448 |
Kansas City | 27 | 31 | .466 |
Las Vegas | 28 | 31 | .475 |
LA Chargers | 31 | 34 | .477 |
Miami | 29 | 31 | .483 |
Cleveland | 31 | 33 | .484 |
Buffalo | 29 | 29 | .500 |
LA Rams | 29 | 29 | .500 |
Minnesota | 30 | 30 | .500 |
Tampa Bay | 33 | 32 | .508 |
New England | 30 | 29 | .508 |
Denver | 29 | 28 | .509 |
Jacksonville | 30 | 28 | .517 |
NY Giants | 32 | 28 | .533 |
NY Jets | 31 | 27 | .534 |
San Francisco | 30 | 26 | .536 |
Philadelphia | 32 | 27 | .542 |
Carolina | 32 | 26 | .552 |
Tennessee | 32 | 26 | .552 |
Washington | 33 | 26 | .559 |
Seattle | 36 | 28 | .563 |
Dallas | 33 | 25 | .569 |
Baltimore | 33 | 24 | .579 |
Arizona | 34 | 23 | .596 |
• Cincinnati | 35 | 23 | .603 |
If we look at points rather than wins, the results are similar. The Bengals and Jaguars are the only teams whose remaining games are against opponents who are (as a whole) allowing fewer than 20 points per game. Cincinnati’s final 12 are against opponents allowing 19.2 points per week – over a point lower than 30 other teams.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE, Points (Wks 6-18) | |
---|---|
Team | Avg |
Kansas City | 25.5 |
Green Bay | 25.0 |
Dallas | 25.0 |
Las Vegas | 24.9 |
New England | 24.1 |
Buffalo | 23.9 |
Detroit | 23.6 |
NY Jets | 23.6 |
Minnesota | 23.4 |
New Orleans | 23.1 |
LA Chargers | 22.9 |
Cleveland | 22.8 |
Atlanta | 22.6 |
Philadelphia | 22.5 |
Chicago | 22.4 |
NY Giants | 22.3 |
Washington | 22.2 |
Houston | 22.0 |
San Francisco | 21.8 |
LA Rams | 21.6 |
Baltimore | 21.5 |
Pittsburgh | 21.5 |
Tennessee | 21.3 |
Miami | 21.2 |
Denver | 21.0 |
Indianapolis | 20.7 |
Carolina | 20.7 |
Tampa Bay | 20.5 |
Arizona | 20.5 |
Seattle | 20.5 |
• Cincinnati | 19.2 |
Jacksonville | 19.1 |
Burrow’s calf if key, of course. He moved around a little more against Arizona. Will be nice if he can make through this week’s game with no issue, giving him a bye week to get back closer to 100 percent. But I’m not sure that offense is ever going to get back to being the top-3 type of offense many were hoping for the in offseason.
—Ian Allan