The Bengals have been here before…
…but really shouldn’t make it a habit. We also question the NFL schedule yet again.
Cincy Needs To Get Right On MNF
What Happened: The Cincinnati Bengals have overcome slow starts under quarterback Joe Burrow. In 2021, a 1-1 start ended in a trip to the Super Bowl. The following season, Cincy dropped its first two games and three of its first five; end result, another trip to the AFC title game. Even last season’s 1-3 start ended with a winning record at 9-8, albeit without playoff football.
But at 0-2 and facing the Commanders tonight, it feels like the margin of error for Burrow and Co. is effectively zero.
Why It Matters: An 0-3 start would doom the Bengals to the bottom of the AFC standings, alongside the Tennessee Titans (and depending on how the other MNF game goes, the Jacksonville Jaguars.) The Steelers are 3-0 and seem to have their formula working, while the Ravens got into the win column yesterday too.
Competition for wild card spots in the conference is going to be tight. The Jets maybe showed on Thursday they are ready to make the leap with Aaron Rodgers back and healthy, the Chargers are 2-1 (although Justin Herbert’s ankle injury is beyond worrisome), and seven other AFC teams have at least one win already.
ESPN’s Football Power Index currently has the Bengals with a 44% chance to make the playoffs. The 0-3 Titans, who play in a much easier division, have just a 9% chance of making it, and one figures Cincy would enter single-digit territory with a loss tonight.
Burrow has posted a 6-9-1 record in September. But he can’t keep waiting for the leaves to change to get his team on track. That magic trick is too tough to pull off over and over.
How We’re Feeling Today
Jaguars at Bills (7:30 PM ET) – The earlier game of the MNF doubleheader. Is it time we start asking if Trevor Lawrence is actually, ya know, any good? An 0-3 start would raise plenty of questions about a player that just signed a contract worth “$275 million.”
Commanders at Bengals (8:15 PM ET) – Does it strike anyone else as odd that we rarely see MLB play doubleheaders anymore, but we are going to have four Monday nights with two NFL games taking place? Obviously MLB doubleheaders feature the same teams playing twice, whereas the NFL ones are just two games on a night usually reserved for one, but still. Something about that just doesn’t feel right…
The Look Ahead
Joe Burrow PASS ATTEMPTS – One way for Burrow and the Bengals to course-correct before it’s too late might be to rely on him a bit less. Expect a game plan that looks more like what the offense did against the Patriots (29 pass attempts) than the Chiefs (36.) You can’t defeat Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City by sitting on the ball, so Burrow had to throw more last week. But his wrist also doesn’t look fully healed, so asking him to chuck it 30+ times again probably isn’t the smartest thing. Burrow’s line for tonight is 34.5; play the under on that.
