The Cincinnati Bengals are 3-2, and had they not struggled by getting in their own way too often, they could have easily gone into the Bye Week with a better record. That doesn't mean their season is over, actually far from it. They actually have one of the easier schedules the rest of the way. They still have a 76 percent chance at making the playoffs .
Take ESPN's Football Power Index, which still gives the Bengals a 76 percent chance to make the playoffs after running simulations. Only a 33 percent chance to win the AFC North, but alas.
They have only played the Pittsburgh Steelers as part of the AFC North Gauntlet, so far. They will get the Baltimore Ravens after the bye with plenty of opponents with losing records left.
That means they still have to win those games, but this team has showed they can be better about taking care of teams worse than them then last year where they made Justin Fields look like Patrick Mahomes in their loss to the pitiful New York Jets.
This team has to clean up plenty of stuff over this break still. Otherwise it won't matter how easy their schedule is going forward.
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10 Stats to Know From First Five Weeks of 2026
As a team, the Bengals have pressured opposing quarterbacks on 40.4% of their dropbacks, the eighth-highest rate in the NFL, per NGS. The pressures are coming from the front line as well, as Cincinnati is sending a blitz (five or more pass rushers) on just 18.2% of their snaps, per NGS.
This is easily the biggest change we have seen from the defense compared to the last few seasons. It used to be that it was Trey Hendrickson or no one would get pressure. We'd constantly watch quarterbacks sit back there and scan the field or easily escape the pocket to make huge plays. That hasn't been as big of a problem as of late.
Bengals WR Dohnte Meyers attracts attention no matter where he plays
At this point, Meyers story of paying to tryout for a CFL team while delivering food before making it to the NFL has been well documented. This story dives deeper as well as farther back. It truly shows that Meyers put in a crazy amount of work to make it to this point to beat some of the toughest odds.
Seahawks-Broncos on 'Thursday Night Football': What We Learned from Denver's 17-14 overtime victory
Man, these quarterbacks stink. The Broncos punted the entire second half and then ran three plays in overtime before kicking the game-winning field goal. Just an absolutely unhinged game.
Eagles QB Jalen Hurts out Sunday vs. Panthers due to superficial blood clot
One of those stories where it goes a little beyond football. It doesn't sound like it is life threatening, but it certainly makes us all feel a little bit mortal when something like this pops up in the news.
NFL says it will be "selective" about playing on Wednesdays
We will have to see truly how the league that really wants to maximize their money making opportunities will truly be that selective. All I know is if I was a team and asked to play on a Wednesday, I would be very upset from just a competitive perspective. Also, just give teams two bye weeks a year at this point.
