By Mike Batista
The Bengals are halfway to a perfect season.
They improved to 8-0 with Thursday night’s 31-10 win over the Browns.
It might be a while before the 1972 Dolphins pop that cork this season. The Bengals, Panthers, Broncos and Patriots all are undefeated.
Since the Patriots have gone 16-0 before, most Perfection Watch eyes on are on them.
But what about the Bengals?
Considering their history, “Bengals” and “perfect season” don’t mesh together in the same sentence was well as “Patriots” and “undefeated season” or even “Broncos” and “undefeated season.”
Sentences I never thought I would write: The Cincinnati Bengals are about to be 8-0.
— Ben Volin (@BenVolin) November 6, 2015
That probably won’t change much after this season.
The Bengals’ chances of finishing the season undefeated sit in the 10-15 percent range. Games at Arizona (6-2) in Week 11 and Denver (7-0) in Week 16 are major hurdles to perfection.
Todd Gurley and the Rams could present a problem at Cincinnati in Week 12. Gurley leads the league with 115 rushing yards per game. He’ll be salivating at the opportunity to go against a defense that’s allowing 4.9 yards per carry, second-worst in the NFL.
The Bengals then go to Cleveland in Week 13. As bad as the Browns are, a road win against the division opponent is never a given.
Then in Week 14, the Steelers come to Cincinnati looking for retribution for their Week 8 loss as well as the loss of Le’Veon Bell.
The other thing, too, is the Bengals could rest starters later in the season. It’s doubtful that the AFC North would go down to the wire. The only prize likely to be up for grabs in the last two weeks of the season is a first-round bye. If it is, there’s a good chance it will be settled when the Bengals and Broncos meet in Denver in Week 16.
If the Bengals somehow are 15-0 at that point with just a home game against the Ravens remaining on their schedule, they’ll have to decide how important it is to go 16-0.
On one hand, they’d bypass the wild-card round that has ensnared them for four straight years. On the other hand, if they lose at home in the divisional round and drop to 0-5 in playoff games during the Andy Dalton Era, their playoff failures would be talked about for decades to come.
Bengals' 8-0 start bodes well for playoff victory. Cincy: 24 seasons without playoff win, longest active drought.pic.twitter.com/6qKZQgSmft
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 6, 2015
If Mercury Morris pops a cork at the Bengals’ expense, they probably won’t mind as long as they win a postseason game or three.
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