The Cincinnati Bengals are 2-0, atop (alone) the AFC North, and the team and its fans have every reason to be excited about what the 2026 Bengals are capable of and will do.
However, not everyone sees it. Some look at the fact that the two teams the Bengals faced are both 0-2, the Bucs losing at home to the lowly Browns in Week 2, and some seem to forget that the city of Cincinnati exists at all.
PFF is a great example. They released their power rankings, which were derived from the quality of each
team as defined by Point Spread Team Ratings (whatever that means), and to say that it’s ridiculous is a massive understatement.
Not only do they have the 2-0 Bengals all the way down at No. 15 behind several teams not nearly as good, but they’re also three spots behind the 0-2 team they beat on Sunday. I’m not exactly sure what algorithm PFF used to come up with this garbage, but it should be scrapped for good.
And then there’s the lack of respect from a vanquished foe. Texans wide receiver Kayshon Boutte recently told the media the Bengals didn’t do anything out of the ordinary to beat Houston; it was all Houston’s doing. You know, the whole, ‘they didn’t win, we lost’ thing.
“We beat ourselves,” he said. “They wasn’t really doing nothing that we couldn’t handle. We just gotta be better in the red zone. We went there multiple times, came up with zero, bull—- offense.”
This is the kind of thing players don’t pay much attention to, but fans tend to latch on. The Texans were outmatched on Sunday in almost every way, and especially when Boutte and his bullsh*t offense were on the field. It’s hard for CJ Stroud to find one of his receivers downfield when he’s running for his life. The Bengals didn’t allow him to get comfortable often, and it’s very clear it was something the Texans’ offense “couldn’t handle.”
Al Golden may not be putting this stuff on the bulletin board in the locker room, but fans remember.
We don’t get no respect! No respect at all!
