The vibes are high for the Cincinnati Bengals right now.
Joe Burrow is healthy. The summer was largely major-injury-free. And the conservative front office morphed into a suddenly modern one in the way it did contracts and other examples, never mind the Dexter Lawrence trade.
Anything less than a serious playoff push could be a problem for Bengals head coach Zac Taylor and everyone else.
Unfortunately, that’s what a new set of projections before Week 1 from ESPN’s Seth Walder outlines.
Running a full-season simulation based on ESPN's Football Power Index, the Bengals hit Week 16 at a paltry 8-7 before sneaking into the playoffs.
And in the playoffs? The Bengals go down at the hands of Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, 32-23.
Flopping to
the tune of a 9-8 record and a first-round exit would be a disaster for the Bengals. It’s not just the offseason moves that would go to waste, but the fact the team appears to have a pretty easy schedule after last year’s implosion.
By all accounts, just getting back in the mix isn’t enough for the Bengals this year. And barely getting to the playoffs before a blowout of an exit would likely mean hot seats aflame for the coaching staff, at a minimum.
This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: NFL sim predictions would spell disaster for Bengals, Zac Taylor
