The Bengals spent Week 6 on the sideline, but the division around them didn’t slow down at all.
Pittsburgh pulled out an overtime win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Cleveland stunned Baltimore with a last-second field goal. And suddenly the AFC North looks like a knot nobody has untangled: the Browns are sitting first at 4-2, the Ravens and Steelers are also 4-2, and the Bengals, despite sitting at 3-2, are last in the division heading into Week 7.
That’s the strange part - and the encouraging part for Cincinnati. The Browns’ win was exactly the kind of result Bengals fans needed, because it turns Sunday’s matchup with Baltimore into something even bigger than it already was. The Bengals come in rested after the bye, and a win would move them ahead of the Ravens in the division.
This game was important before all the Week 6 chaos. Cincinnati had already dropped its first division game of the season against Pittsburgh, so the margin for error was already thin. Now the stakes are even cleaner: beat Baltimore, jump them in the standings, and set up a matchup with a Tennessee Titans team that just picked up its first win.
A strong return from the bye would mean more than just one division victory. It could also give the Bengals some real momentum and put the rest of the AFC North on notice.
Of course, beating the Ravens is never simple. For Cincinnati, it has been especially tough lately. The Bengals are 1-5 over their last three regular-season games against Baltimore over the last three years, and that’s the kind of stretch that changes the way people look at a team until it gets flipped.
This time, though, the quarterback situation adds another layer. For once, it’s not the Bengals dealing with an injury at quarterback when these two teams line up Sunday. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has missed the last two games after suffering an ankle sprain in Baltimore’s Week 4 win over the Titans.
If Jackson is out, that obviously changes the picture. Still, the Bengals are preparing as if the former MVP will be out there Sunday.
The chance is in front of them now. The question is whether the Bengals can take it.
In Other News...
Bengals Get A Timely Break Before A Crucial AFC North Stretch
The Bengals get a little breathing room in the middle of a demanding early schedule, with a Week 6 bye giving the roster a chance to reset before the AFC North race tightens up. It is the kind of pause every team values, but especially one that knows how quickly the division can turn into a week-to-week grind.
Cincinnati comes out of the break with a trip to Baltimore on Oct. 25, a game that will immediately put the spotlight back on the Bengals in one of the NFLs toughest neighborhoods. With the rest of the regular-season slate already mapped out through Week 18, the bye simply adds another layer of importance to how they handle the stretch that follows. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals May Already Have The Fix For Zac Taylors Offense
Through five weeks, the Bengals offense has looked like a unit searching for answers in two key places: the run game and the ability to create cleaner separation on the outside. Zac Taylors group has had enough talent to stay dangerous in stretches, but the way personnel has been deployed has left room for a different look, especially with the offense trying to become less predictable and more balanced.
One potential path forward is already on the roster, and it starts with players whose skill sets fit the problems Cincinnati is trying to solve. Dohnte Meyers brings a versatility that could help in the receiving mix, while the tight end group may offer the kind of formation variety this offense has lacked. If the Bengals are going to get more out of their newer under-center looks and force defenses to account for more than the same familiar alignments, the next move could come from a couple of names who have not yet been used to their full advantage. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals 2023 Draft Class Is Headed For A Tough Roster Call
The Bengals are staring at an early look at a familiar roster dilemma, with several members of their 2023 draft class moving toward free agency after the season. Jordan Battle, Chase Brown, Andrei Iosivas, Myles Murphy and DJ Turner II all give the front office something to weigh, because this is the stage of the cycle when good homegrown players start getting expensive and the team has to decide where to keep investing.
Turner stands out as the one the Bengals appear most motivated to protect, while the rest of the group could end up in the category of productive but replaceable if the price climbs too high. Cincinnati has never shied away from letting useful players walk when it believes it can redirect resources elsewhere, and this class could become the next test of how far that approach can stretch before the turnover starts to alter the depth chart. [Read more 🡒]