With the NFL season closing in and the Hall of Fame game set for Aug. 6, USA Today’s Nate Davis has laid out his record projections for every team - and he likes the Cincinnati Bengals to make a run in 2025.
Davis has Cincinnati finishing 11-6, claiming the AFC North and landing the No. 4 seed in the playoffs.
His reasoning leans on a few big swing factors. The Bengals, he wrote, need their “sublimely talented but often brittle quarterback” to stay healthy, a “highly compensated offensive nucleus” to produce, and a defense that has “been a dreadful defense” to improve to at least “subpar, at minimum.” He also noted that “QB Joe Burrow appears ready to go,” that the defense got “significant offseason investment,” that Zac Taylor is the only head coach in the division who was with his team last year, and that only two teams have weaker schedules than Cincinnati’s, with opponents posting a .450 winning percentage in 2025.
Davis compared the setup to Dallas, writing, “Basically, this is Dallas East.” He added that while the Bengals may not look as complete as some of the NFC’s top teams, the AFC appears open enough that Cincinnati could be a strong bet to return to the SoFi Super Bowl stage it shared with the Rams after the 2021 season.
In Davis’s AFC playoff field, the Houston Texans grab the conference’s best record and the No. 1 seed. The Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills, Bengals, Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens follow.
He has Cincinnati opening the postseason with a Wild Card win over the Chiefs, then falling at Buffalo in the divisional round. That would be a notable twist in the Bengals’ recent playoff history, since they are 3-0 against Buffalo in the postseason and beat the Bills 27-10 on Jan. 22, 2023, in a snow-packed game.
Davis’s simulation sends Buffalo past Baltimore in the AFC Championship Game before the Bills lose to the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl 61. The Rams beat the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl 34 when they were in St. Louis, and they also defeated the Bengals in Super Bowl 56.
In Other News...
Bengals Rookies Are Forcing A Camp Battle Cincinnati Really Needed
Even without a first-round pick in the 2026 draft, the Bengals have managed to give training camp some real juice. Their rookie class is creating the kind of competition every coaching staff wants, with second-round edge rusher Cashius Howell, third-round cornerback Tacario Davis, fourth-round center Connor Lew, tight end Jack Endries and wide receiver Colbie Young all putting themselves into the mix for playing time. For a team that needed young depth to start showing up, that is a useful development this early.
The encouraging part for Cincinnati is that this does not look like a one-man rookie story. There are realistic paths for multiple first-year players to matter in the upcoming season, and that kind of depth can change the feel of a camp quickly. Young has been especially eye-catching early, while the battles along the line and in the secondary suggest the Bengals may have found more than just developmental pieces in this class. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals Just Got A Break In A Season They Can't Waste
The Bengals have caught a small scheduling break, at least in the eyes of the betting market, and it comes at a time when every edge matters for a team trying to make the most of a difficult AFC North path. The 2026 slate is being viewed more favorably now because several opponents have drawn more pessimism from bettors, including the Browns, Dolphins and Buccaneers, which has nudged the overall projection in Cincinnatis direction.
It is not an official change to the schedule, of course, just a reflection of how the market sees those teams right now. Still, for a Bengals team that cannot afford wasted chances, the possibility of facing a softer list of opponents than expected could matter if those clubs fall short of current projections. [Read more 🡒]
Zac Taylor Sends Bengals Fans A Clear Message About 2026
Zac Taylor has spent this offseason sounding like a coach who understands both the promise and the pressure around the Bengals heading into 2026. He pointed to the work the organization has done to strengthen the roster, but he was just as quick to remind everyone that paper improvements do not win games in the AFC North.
The next step, Taylor said, comes in training camp, where talent has to be turned into consistent production by the coaches and players. Coming off last seasons disappointing record, Cincinnati has plenty of reason to believe better days are possible, but Taylors message was clear enough: the optimism only matters if the team does the work to back it up. [Read more 🡒]