The Cincinnati Bengals sit alongside some familiar names in ESPN’s FPI rankings going into the 2023 season.
The model, which uses predictive ratings based on win totals from sportsbooks, strength of schedule and other factors before running simulations, is one of the more trusted analytic ways to power rank NFL teams each year.
And in these new rankings from ESPN’s Seth Walder, the Bengals sit fourth with a +4.6 rating behind only the Chiefs, Bills and Eagles:
“The Cincinnati Bengals are fourth in FPI rating, as they return their key offensive triumvirate of Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Cincy has also added Orlando Brown Jr. at left tackle to shore up its biggest weakness.”
Bengals fans might bristle at the idea of the Bills being ranked higher in the wake of that playoff trouncing back in January — and so soon after a former Bills player said the Bengals don’t win that game if it hadn’t snowed.
But this is just one analytical model projecting the upcoming season, of many ways to get predictive about things. No matter the ranking, it’s hard to complain about the Bengals being just one of four teams to hit a rating higher than 4.0 and speaks to where they stand as contenders under almost any microscope.
