The Cincinnati Bengals sat out on bye in Week 12 while hoping for some help in the AFC standings while sitting at 4-7.
During the week while the Bengals were resting though, national media had all sorts of takes about the state of the team’s playoff chances.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter, for example, went on the Pat McAfee show and said he’s not counting the Bengals out just yet: “The Cincinnati Bengals are still a dangerous football team and I think they’re still capable of making a playoff push…It’s gonna be tough but they still can do it.”
Much of the remaining hope for the Bengals still stems from the MVP-level play of quarterback Joe Burrow, who even has other players around the NFL talking about how he should be in the MVP conversation.
And Schefter’s point about the Bengals still being all-in on the season and other AFC playoff teams not wanting to see them when it’s one-and-done is a good point.
For the Bengals to make any of this remaining hype matter, though, they need to storm out of the bye week and steal a win against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
