Are the Cincinnati Bengals the best team in the NFL?
By Dan Salem
Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Are the Cincinnati Bengals the best team in the NFL? As one of only three undefeated teams, they certainly warrant the question. Dan Salem and Todd Salem debate in part one of this week’s TD Sports Debate. Two brothers from New York yell, scream and debate the NFL and sports.
TODD:
Are the Cincinnati Bengals the best team in football?
Prior to the season, neither of us thought Cincy would continue its winning ways as far as the division title was concerned. Andy Dalton’s playoff struggles may have clouded our analysis, but there was little reason to believe he would ever turn into more than a mediocre, Joe Flacco-type.
The thing is, through three games, he really hasn’t.
Dalton has only thrown two touchdowns this season and is averaging around 240 yards per game. Of course, the more important stats (completion percentage, yards per attempt) are way up as compared to his career norms, meaning Dalton has been playing well this season.
Yet Cincinnati is winning for other reasons. It has allowed the fewest points and has the best point differential in the NFL this season. Though not yet through a quarter of their schedule, the Bengals have also not played all pushovers.
Baltimore seems like a quality foe and took Cincy to the edge in week one. Atlanta definitely seems like its overcome last season’s debacle and yet the Bengals handled it in week two. And the Titans were blown out of the building last Sunday by this squad.
After the bye, Cincinnati comes back to face New England, Carolina, Indy and Baltimore for a second time. Eight weeks will obviously give us a better gauge of how good this team is, but I find it hard to tab anyone else as clearly better than them at this point.
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DAN:
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but this is a totally valid question. As one of only three undefeated teams in the National Football League, the Bengals certainly warrant consideration for best in football. The other two teams joining them at 3-0 are the Philadelphia Eagles and Arizona Cardinals.
What jumps out to me with the Bengals is how well their defense has played thus far. You touched on the stats, but considering they faced and defeated an Atlanta team which has put up the most points in the league (103) through three weeks, the fact that the Bengals have the lowest points allowed by a defense is incredible. They have only allowed 33 points this season, that’s 11 points per week on average. Their league leading differential is a whopping +47. The next best team is Atlanta at +31 and then Philadelphia at +23. They are not simply beating teams, they are controlling both sides of the line of scrimmage.
So what’s my verdict, are the Bengals the best in the NFL? They are the best of the undefeated teams, but they are not the best team in the league. I can’t ignore who they’ve faced. I’m not particularly sold or impressed with Baltimore, a team that appears more average than anything else with victories over two average division opponents. That victory by the Bengals was good; their Atlanta victory very good; and their Titans victory an expectation.
If the Bengals follow their bye week with impressive performances against Tom Brady and Cam Newton and Andrew Luck then I’m prepared to anoint them. Thus far they’ve only faced one elite-ish quarterback in Matt Ryan. So best in the AFC? Yeah, pretty much. Best of the undefeateds? Yeah, I think so. But best team in the NFL? Not quite yet.