First, they signed safety Bryan Cook, defensive end Boye Mafe, and defensive tackle Jonathan Allen. Those were all solid moves, but there was a move for Dexter Lawrence II before the draft that really showed their dedication to getting the defensive side of the ball right.
With a high-powered offense in their primes, we’ve seen what a middle-of-the-road
defense can do for Cincinnati, such as their back-to-back AFC Championship Game appearances in the 2021 and 2022 seasons. For now, the goal should just be making the postseason after a three-year absence.
ESPN’s Dan Graziano not only thinks the Bengals will make the playoffs, but he also predicts that they will play for the AFC Championship in January.
After reaching the Super Bowl in Joe Burrow‘s second season and getting back to the AFC Championship Game the following year, Cincinnati has missed the playoffs three years in a row. Last season’s 6-11 finish was the Bengals’ first losing record since Burrow’s rookie year of 2020.
They are, however, the only team in their division that didn’t change head coaches this offseason. And they spent the bulk of it beefing up their defense, which has been their Achilles’ heel since that Super Bowl season. Cincinnati capped things off last month by trading the 10th pick to the Giants for defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II a few days before the draft. The offense returns all 11 starters from 2025, and when Burrow has been healthy it has been an elite unit.
Graziano seems to be a fan of the defensive additions Cincinnati has made, and he, like everyone, knows what a healthy Joe Burrow can do when he has support on the other side of the ball. Continuity also seems to sway Graziano’s opinion, as he notes that Cincinnati is the only AFC North team to return its head coach from 2025.
The schedule also favors the Bengals, as Graziano noted.
Furthermore, the Bengals — based again on the 2025 win-loss records of their 2026 opponents — have the league’s third-easiest schedule. All they need is for the defense to not be detrimental, and one assumes they can be a playoff team again without too much trouble.
The third-easiest schedule is a big factor. If Zac Taylor and co. can start the season hot in some tough matchups, a softer middle portion of the schedule could benefit them before they begin the playoff push in December.
There aren’t any messy contract disputes, no players coming off major injuries *knocks on wood*, and there seems to be nothing but positivity in the locker room at this point. Many things are going the Bengals’ way, and if Graziano’s prediction comes true, we will see the Bengals’ aggression pay dividends.
