Predicting the Bengals' Final Record After Cincinnati's 3-2 Start

With the bye week here for the Cincinnati Bengals, let’s go back and check our preseason record prediction to see whether any adjustments are needed. 

The biggest question before the season was the defense, and they have outplayed expectations as the NFL's #10 unit in points per game and #21 in yards per game. The inconsistency has been overshadowed by the sheer talent Cincinnati clearly has, much of it from their offseason acquisitions. 

I initially predicted the Bengals to go 12-5, and in the first five games of the season, I predicted a 4-1 record, with the loss coming to the Houston Texans. Their remaining losses were to the Baltimore Ravens in week seven, the Washington Commanders in week 11, and back-to-back losses to the Kansas City Chiefs and Carolina Panthers. 

Based on the first five weeks of the season, how different is my season prediction now? 

3-2 to start:

@ Ravens - L

Titans - W

Falcons (Madrid) - W

Steelers - W

@ Commanders - W

Saints - W

@ Browns - W

Chiefs - L

@ Panthers - L

@ Colts - W

Ravens - W

Browns - W

Final record: 12-5

I’m keeping the Week 7 loss to the Ravens; Lamar Jackson is trending toward being back after missing Weeks 5 and 6. I flipped the Commanders road game from a loss to a win. Washington is dealing with a lot of dysfunction, and Jayden Daniels’ injury situation raises a lot of questions. Washington currently has one of the worst passing offenses in the league while also having little to no ability to stop the pass on defense.

I am still sticking with the back-to-back losses against the Chiefs and Panthers. Both teams have good passing defenses through five weeks and will be well positioned to at least slow down Cincinnati’s offense while also having a lot of success keeping their quarterback upright, which is the Bengals' biggest defensive strength. Kansas City is playing really good football and will be motivated in that matchup, while the Panthers will be at home and inch closer to an NFC South title. 

That still gives the Bengals a chance to end the season on a high note, with three straight wins over the Colts, Ravens, and Browns, and carrying plenty of momentum into the playoffs as the likely AFC North champions. 

With the Bengals defense seemingly steadied after the Week 3 loss to the Steelers, and Joe Burrow and the passing attack humming, Bengals fans will have little reason to doubt that Cincinnati will come out on top in the remaining games on the schedule.