The Cincinnati Bengals Have A Tough Road Back To The Playoffs

The Cincinnati Bengals were a surprise team, to say the least, in 2011.

The team sent both Terrell Owens and Chad “OchoCinco” Johnson out of town, and Carson Palmer threatened to retire if not traded or released. It left the Bengals in a state of disarray.

They had just drafted wide receiver A.J. Green out of Georgia with their first round pick, and used their second round pick on Andy Dalton, the successful quarterback from Texas Christian. It was expected to be a year of rebuilding in the Queen City, but instead it turned out to be a year in which the Bengals finished 9-7 and made the playoffs after being projected to finish last in the division by a lot of experts.

They also opened the world’s eyes to what may be the next great quarterback/receiver combination in the NFL. There is just one key question – can they do it again?

The Bengals went 0-4 against Baltimore and Pittsburgh last year, which made it even more surprising that they made the playoffs with a 2-4 divisional record. The team had a record of just 2-7 against teams that finished 2011 .500 or better. However, they beat the teams that they were supposed to, going 7-0 against teams who finished the season with a losing record.  In order to repeat the success they had last season, Cincinnati is going to have to perform at a higher degree against the better teams in the league.

While the Bengals don’t one of the toughest schedules in the league, 14th, it will certainly be tougher than 2011, which was the 27th toughest in the NFL.

Not counting their match-ups with Pittsburgh and Baltimore, Cincinnati has to play the likes of Dallas, Philadelphia, San Diego, Oakland, Denver, and the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants.

There are some people who are picking the Bengals to once again make the playoffs. Hell, there are even some, like Chad Reuter of NFL.com, that believe the Bengals can win the AFC North.

It’s nice to have faith that they can pull off the same Magic from 2011, but with a history of falling flat on their faces when met with expectations, and a much tougher 2012 schedule, it’s not a reach to believe that the Bengals won’t be able to get back to the postseason.