Rich Eisen: Nobody Wants To See The Bengals In The Playoffs
Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
While riding a four game winning streak, including an overtime win against the Denver Broncos, the Bengals have suddenly become one of the NFL’s hottest teams. Cinncinati has notoriously heated up late in seasons, and Rich Eisen echoed the feeling that a lot of the NFL’s best teams have regarding the rest of the NFL having to face Joe Burrow in January.
On his popular podcast, Overreaction Monday, Eisen was asked about whether or not Joe Burrow should be considered for MVP. The respected analyst quickly viered off topic to instead discuss the fears that other NFL teams justifiably have regarding a potential Bengals playoff appearance.
“Not a soul outside the city of Cincinnati wants to see the Cincinnati Bengals in the playoffs as the seven seed.” Eisen said. “You think the Buffalo Bills would say “You know what, right now, if the season ended today we get Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos in their first foray into the playoffs together with Bo Nix having his first foray into the playoffs as a professional quarterback coming into the train whistles and all of that stuff here in Western New York, or do we take the guy who’s coming to that situation and sent us home, who’s now at the top of his game?…Nobody outside of Cincinnati wants to see Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins (in the playoffs) coming off a three touchdown game in Week 17 and the defense performing better… Not a soul wants to see a seventh seeded Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals at all.”
Cincinnati absolutely would love to see it. All talks of “lose for a draft pick” have been abandoned with the Bengals finally winning games, hitting their stride and hanging onto the ledge of the playoffs by a single finger. Burrow has shown an unmatched ability to single-handedly drag his team across the finish line, and there’s no reason to believe he wouldn’t continue that into the postseason. He had been playing at an MVP level even without accumulating wins, and now that he’s playing at the same level and accumulating the wins that his MVP case lacks, the Bengals have gone from an afterthought to dangerous seemingly overnight.
The rest of the NFL should feel lucky that the Bengals don’t have full control of their own destiny. If they reach the playoffs, where they have complete control over their own destiny, they have an opportunity to be out for vengeance against the AFC’s best teams, including the Chiefs, who Burrow has shown he can beat in the past. As Eisen added on his podcast, they also have every reason to not want to be on the opposite side of a Joe Burrow revenge game.
“Would the Kansas City Chiefs purposely pull every single starter possible to let the Denver Broncos have the best chance to win it? No one tanks, no one lays down in the NFL, but if you remove enough ammo from the depot, you’re going to have less of a chance to win the battle. Would the Kansas City Chiefs purposefully say, “You know what, who needs a 16th win? Who really needs to do that? 15-2 is just fine, let’s keep everybody healthy and if the Broncos make it, so be it.”
The Broncos are in a win-and-they’re-in scenario, and they will likely go up against Carson Wentz in Denver. While Wentz has been heavily criticized in the past and will have the odds against him, the former number two overall pick likely has a chip on his shoulder from all the criticism he’s taken. Between coaching and weapons, he’ll be in one of the better offensive systems he’s been in during his post-Eagles tenure.
A Chiefs win could also sneak Miami, who struggles in cold weather, into the playoffs, and there’s a world where the rest of the NFL would love to see that. However, there is a universe where the stars align, the Chiefs and Jets (the latter of whom could be QB1d by Tyrod Taylor) play spoiler, the Bengals say “Don’t mind if I do”, and sneaks into the playoffs. If that’s the case, Cincinnati could be one of the most dangerous seven seeded playoff teams the NFL has ever seen.
Up Next