The Cincinnati Bengals can’t afford an 0-3 start in the AFC North.
Buy Bengals TicketsCincinnati sits one game out of the playoff race thanks to the winless mark in the division after a loss to Pittsburgh in Week 1 and Baltimore in Week 5.
Much could be said about how close things were in those games and how it almost went differently. But the Bengals are eighth in the conference while the Ravens sit at 5-3 and they lose all tiebreakers to the other two 4-3 teams.
“Absolutely,” Bengals cornerback Mike Hilton said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “Time to get our first AFC North win. It’s about that time where teams start to separate and pull away from the pack for the playoff push. We like where we’re at, but we still have a lot of stuff we need to do.”
The Bengals have only won the AFC North once in recent history with an 3-3 mark (2013).
Failing to best a Browns team without Deshaun Watson under center on Monday would leave the Bengals with a road game against Pittsburgh in Week 11, a homestand against the Browns in Week 14 (with Watson back) and a season-ending date with the Ravens in Week 18.
To get the win and avoid an 0-3 mark, the Bengals will have to forge ahead without star wideout Ja’Marr Chase.
