For the Cincinnati Bengals, it’s simply Tee little, Tee late.
The Stripes ran their winning streak to four Saturday, surviving the fading Denver Broncos 30-24 – thanks to three touchdown catches by blossoming wideout Tee Higgins, including a 3-yarder with 67 seconds left in overtime – in a game that was both wildly entertaining and vexing at times to watch from a strategic standpoint. Quarterback Joe Burrow’s brilliance – burnished by the heroics of Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase, the league’s premier wideout tandem – was a reminder that, for football fans, seeing Cincy qualify for the playoffs a third time in four seasons would be a treat.
‘I don’t know that anybody can stand on the field and watch Joe Burrow and say he’s not the best player in the world,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said after Saturday’s victory, when his superstar QB passed for 412 yards and three TDs.
“The clearest thing I can say is, I would not trade Joe Burrow for any player in the universe.”
That might be exactly why other NFL teams – and certainly those that remain Super Bowl-viable – don’t want to see Burrow and Co. get a shot at the Lombardi Trophy this season, which is why Saturday’s drama almost certainly did nothing more than deprive Cincinnati of postseason euthanasia.
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Per the NFL’s Next Gen Stats, the Bengals have a 13% chance to snatch the AFC’s final wild-card berth. But these five reasons suggest that analytical assessment might be overly optimistic and that this might be a fairy tale contained to December:
The Bengals still have to beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh
The only component remaining in Cincinnati’s narrow playoff path that it can control is winning at Acrisure Stadium in Week 18. The Steelers have beaten the Bengals three straight and four of the past five. They’ve also taken six of the past eight in Pittsburgh. Russell Wilson looked like a man in his prime while passing for 414 yards and three touchdowns in the Steelers’ 44-38 triumph at Paycor Stadium four weeks ago.
And it’s not like Pittsburgh, which has already punched its playoff ticket, can afford to mail it in during the regular-season finale – the team is still trying to win the AFC North and the privilege of hosting a postseason game at the confluence of the Three Rivers. The Steelers have lost three in a row but will have had 11 days to prepare for Cincinnati while trying to get back into coach Mike Tomlin’s good graces after he lamented a “junior varsity” effort that “sucked” during his team’s 29-10 Christmas Day defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Sure, the Bengals are certainly capable of clubbing their division rivals on the road. But it’s a semi-high bar and, unfortunately for them, only part of the formula they need to advance.
“We know we can hang with anybody, we’ve proven that this year,” Burrow said Saturday, his game-winning shot to Higgins the quarterback’s league-leading 42nd TD pass.
“We’ve played every single team close – it’s just about making the plays down the stretch to win those games. Today we did, last four weeks we have, and we’ve got to continue to do it.”
The Colts have to lose at least once
Based on opposition winning percentage, Indianapolis owns the league’s easiest remaining schedule (Giants, Jaguars). But maybe the Bengals have already caught a break now that Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson has been ruled out of Sunday’s game at New York. Still … it’s the Giants.
The Dolphins have to lose at least once
Based on opposition winning percentage, Miami owns the league’s sixth-easiest remaining schedule (Browns, Jets). But maybe the Bengals have already caught a break now that Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has been downgraded to doubtful for Sunday’s game at Cleveland. Still … it’s the Browns.
NFL PLAYOFF PICTURE: Where things stand for Cincinnati
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Cincinnati’s internal issues
Taylor lauded his defense’s two stops against the Broncos in overtime. But this is a unit that began the day having surrendered the fifth-most points and fifth-most yards in the league, allowed Denver rookie Bo Nix to complete two game-tying fourth-quarter touchdown passes and has consistently undermined what Burrow deemed as the league’s best offense.
And there are issues there, too – Burrow sacked seven times Saturday, starting running back Chase Brown suffering a fourth-quarter ankle injury, and Taylor’s clock management at the end of regulation leaving something to be desired.
Talented as this team is, it’s always found ways to remain without a championship 56 years into its existence.
The Broncos have to lose at Kansas City
This might be the real kicker … and I don’t mean Cade York.
Denver hosts the reigning champs in Week 18 and needs a win or tie to reach postseason for the first time since Peyton Manning retired as a champion nine years ago following Super Bowl 50. These are also the same Chiefs who needed a blocked field goal on the final play at Arrowhead in Week 10 to outlast the Broncos 16-14.
Sort of.
After blast-furnacing the Steelers, K.C. already owns the No. 1 seed. There’s virtually no incentive for them to play Patrick Mahomes or Travis Kelce or Chris Jones or DeAndre Hopkins – the list goes on. Not only that, but few teams have given Mahomes trouble the way the Bengals have over the years, most notably an overtime win at Kansas City in the 2021 AFC championship game. The Chiefs don’t need that kind of thorn in their playoff bracket – especially since they’d host Cincinnati in their postseason opener if the now-scalding Bengals get into the field and win their wild-card matchup (which would probably be against the Bills in Buffalo).
If only the Bengals hadn’t somehow managed to lose to the Jacoby Brissett-led New England Patriots on opening day amid a 1-4 start that could otherwise be explained away to some degree. If only Higgins, their franchise player in 2024 and a man who’s likely to get a much larger payday in 2025 – he has 10 touchdowns in the past nine games –hadn’t missed five weeks while injured.
“We’ve known we’ve had a good football team all along, and those games are disappointing that we came up short. It didn’t change our process. It didn’t change what our guys believed in,” Taylor said Saturday.
“We still believed in what we were doing.”
Just hard to believe now that it will ultimately be sufficient for a team that might finally be playing well enough to win it all – if Tee late to matter.
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Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Davis on X, formerly Twitter, @ByNateDavis.