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The Cincinnati Bengals bid for their fourth straight playoff appearance took a hit on Sunday. The Bengals had an opportunity to take a big step forward in the division race by beating the Pittsburgh Steelers. Instead, they gave up 25 fourth-quarter points to the Steelers in their 42-21 drubbing. The loss drops the Bengals to 8-4-1 on the season, just a half-game ahead of the Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens.
Its starting to look like the Bengals tie against the Carolina Panthers will play a critical part in their playoff fate. The AFC playoff picture is so crowded that its very likely Cincinnati will either make or miss the playoffs by a half game.
The most straightforward way for the Bengals to get in the playoffs is to hold on and win the AFC North. They can do that by winning their final three games of the year. However, that isnt going to be easy. Cincinnatis remaining schedule is rough, with games against the Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos and one more against the Steelers. The games against the Browns and Steelers are on the road. The Bengals might not be favored in any of those games.
If they manage to split the first two games, then the division crown will likely be up for grabs in the season finale at Pittsburgh. A loss there would have them finish the season at 9-6-1, which might not be enough for a wild card spot. They can only afford to have one of the wild card contenders reach 10 wins for them to get in with nine wins.
The biggest obstacle to the Bengals playoff hopes might just be their level of play. Despite being four games above .500, they have been outscored by their opponents on the year. All four of their losses have been by 21 points or more. That is typically a sign of a bad team that is fortunate to have the record they do.
The only positive that the Bengals can take from yesterdays game is that Andy Dalton played well. He is typically the reason for their disappointing losses, but he threw for over 300 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Dalton did leave near the end of the game, but assured everyone that it wasnt due to injury.
Cincinnatis defense will obviously need to perform better in the last three games, or else it wont matter how well Dalton and the offense play.Its going to take more performances like that from Dalton, paired with an improved defense, to get the Bengals into the playoffs.
Source: http://www.rantsports.com/nfl/2014/12/08/nfl-playoff-picture-week-15-cincinnati-bengals-scenarios/
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