Sports Commentary: What is wrong with the Cincinnati Bengals?

This NFL season has been crazy, to say the least. The hometown Cincinnati Bengals with a 4–8 record and one of the most explosive offenses in the league has also been likely the biggest disappointments in the league.

Offensively, this team can score and score a ton of points. Joe Burrow is one of the top three quarterbacks in the NFL, and Ja’Marr Chase is also in that same rarified air at the wide receiver spot.

They are both having career seasons, yet this team is letting people down, week in and week out. Their defense has been abysmal a lot of the time, their play calling has been suspect, and even the very dependable Evan McPherson has struggled at times this year.

They’re likely not going to make the playoffs, but you can’t blame the offensive skilled players. The question is, how much more of this is Burrow going to be able to deal with? He has a very large contract but a long road to go in his career. Could he request a trade? I wouldn’t blame him if he did. The lack of support has been terrible to the point where he could take them to court for lack of support.

It seems like that old saying ‘wait till next year,’ a statement Browns fans are very familiar with, has settled into Cincinnati for this season. The Super Bowl appearance a couple of years ago is becoming more and more distant, and right now, the way the Steelers and Ravens are playing, you wonder if Cincinnati is ever going to win the division again.

- Right now, it looks like the Detroit Lions are the favorites to win the Super Bowl. They’ve got the best team in football despite the Chiefs having only one loss. I’m a Chiefs fan, and I understand that they’re the worst 11-1 team in the history of the league. They need a big play, they get it. They need something to win a game, and they get it. Yes, the Chiefs are good but also very average in certain aspects of the game.

They’re not dominating like they have in the last five years. That award goes to the Lions, who I think now will win the Super Bowl.

- The AFC right now goes through KC, but Buffalo has beaten them once and is only a game behind the Chiefs for home field. The AFC team that has surprised everyone this year is, without a doubt, the Steelers, who are comfortably in the playoffs right now and cruising to the AFC North title. They did get knocked off by the 3-9 Browns, but make no mistake about it, Pittsburgh could sneak in and make some noise. The Steelers, though, have a rough December ahead of them. After their rematch against the Browns a few days ago, they still have the Eagles, Ravens, Chiefs, and Bengals to close out the season. They could realistically lose all of those, even the Bengals game.

I will be back in January with a look at the playoffs and predictions on the Super Bowl once the playoff field is announced.