The Cincinnati Bengals have made the playoffs in the last two seasons, but they were the first team to be eliminated from the playoffs in each year courtesy of the Houston Texans. In those two years, the Bengals have a combined record of 2-6 against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens while they are 17-7 against the rest of the National Football League. The struggles that the Bengals have had against the Steelers and Ravens have kept them from winning the AFC North, but can that change in 2013?
The Ravens are the defending Super Bowl Champions, but they will have a different feel in 2013 as wide receiver Anquan Boldin is now with the San Francisco 49ers. Safety Ed Reed is a member of the Texans and middle linebacker Ray Lewis decided to retire. After allowing wide receiver Mike Wallace to leave in free agency, the Steelers appear to be a team in limbo which gives the Bengals their best chance in several seasons to sneak past the “bullies” of the AFC North and win the division.
Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton is on the cusp of doing big things in the NFL as he appears ready to put his name alongside former Bengal quarterbacks Ken Anderson, Boomer Esaison, and Carson Palmer. Anderson and Esaison each led the Bengals to a Super Bowl appearance while Palmer led the Bengals to two division titles during his tenure, but he was never able to win a playoff game.
Last season in just his second year in the NFL, Dalton threw 27 touchdowns which was tied for 7th in the NFL with 11 of those touchdowns being hauled in by Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green. Green is a match-up nightmare for opposing defenses as he had 16 receptions of 20 yards or more. Both Green and Dalton were drafted by the Bengals in 2011 to make the football fans in the Queen City forget about Palmer and former Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson. Very quietly the duo of Dalton and Green are going about their business in Cincinnati which is a far cry from the chaos that ensued with Johnson and Palmer; albeit Palmer was relatively quiet until he got frustrated after the 2010 season.
The offense is only part of the team and you cannot talk about Cincinnati Bengals football without mentioning the defense. Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis built his reputation on defense as he was the defensive coordinator for the Ravens when they won the Super Bowl in 2000. The past two seasons have seen the Bengals sport a top 10 defense and if the Bengals are going to be an upper echelon team in the NFL in 2013, their defense will once again have a say in it.
As a team in 2012, the Bengals had 51 sacks which was third in the NFL with defensive ends Geno Atkins and Michael Johnson combining to tally 24 sacks. Defensive end Carlos Dunlap and the Bengals recently agreed to a six-year, $40 million contract extension that will add to the pass-rush depth which is necessary to sustain pressure on quarterbacks such as Ben Roethlisberger of the Steelers and Super Bowl 47 MVP Joe Flacco of the Ravens if Cincy is going to indeed win the division.
Last year the Bengals got off to a 3-1 start before losing four games in a row. Cincinnati proceeded to overcome that and finish with a record of 10-6. The Bengals gave up too much ground early to the Ravens in the AFC North and they were never able to recover.
This season of the Bengals first five opponents, only the Cleveland Browns had a losing record in 2012. It won’t long for the Bengals to have an opportunity to cement themselves within the AFC North as they host the Steelers in Week 2.
The Bengals have been close as they are reversing the tide of futility. The Bengals have not won a playoff game since 1990 and they have never won a road playoff game. If the Bengals are going to take the next step to becoming a championship team, this must change.
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