The Cincinnati Bengals have some ground to make up in the power rankings going into Week 2.
That tracks, considering the giant egg the team laid in Cleveland against the Browns in the opener. Most power rankings have the Bengals down as a result, with USA Today’s Nate Davis dropping them from third to ninth:
Buy Bengals Tickets9. Bengals (3): Maybe it was the rain. Maybe it was waiting for QB Joe Burrow’s calf and contract to come around. Maybe it’s a Cleveland bugaboo, Cincinnati having dropped six of seven to their cross-state rivals. Certainly averaging 2.6 yards per play cemented the Bengals’ demise. But let’s give them a mulligan … for now.
The good news for the Bengals? They remain a top-10 team even after Joe Burrow couldn’t break the 100-yard mark passing.
And it’s a quick climb back to near the top if the Bengals can turn this around like they did last season after the 0-2 start there. Beating a Ravens team next weekend that looks like it could be a playoff contender again would create a quick jump as they show Week 1 was a stumble due to rust/weather/injury comeback.
