Cincinnati had a chance to assume the path to the second seed in the AFC. In doing so, they could advance past the first round of playoffs for the first time in seemingly forever. All that was required was beating a team three games under .500, but… nope. The Bengals were dominated from the outset on Sunday night. At no point did their pathetic comeback ever get to the point of actually being a threat. Hell, even Matt Flynn did better today.
The goal for the Bengals this season, despite being a young team with a talented core, is just to win a playoff game for the first time in 23 years. Not contend. Just take the most minimal of steps. That’s all that’s asked of them. And yet, it still seems too like too steep a task. If the Bengals are lucky, they get the third seed and face the lucky winner of the glut of teams vying for the final AFC playoff spot. Knowing the Bengals, they’ll still blow it. It’s the Bengals thing to do.