Were the Bengals Ever A True Contender?
Credit: Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images
If you’re reading this, I’m sure there’s no need to tell you just how good the Cincinnati Bengals offense has been playing. It’s heartbreaking to see what might be the best offense in Bengals’ history sitting two games under .500.
I could sit here and break down all of Joe Burrow’s stats and tell you how he’s leading the NFL in multiple passing categories. Then I could rattle off all of Ja’Marr Chase’s stats. You could, too. Both of them are playing out of this world with Burrow easily an MVP candidate if there was any type of defense supporting him.
Forget the MVP. With minimal defensive support, this Bengals team could be Super Bowl Champions. This high-powered offense is just a few plays from being a powerhouse in the NFL, but unfortunately, the defense leaves Burrow literally no room for error.
Reminder.. That’s one play from beating Wash, Balt x’2, KC. If we win Sunday night, it’s gonna be a different season ! #WhoDey #ruleitall @Bengals pic.twitter.com/vwsGn6OpsF
— Bengals Super Fans!! (@archiecarbone) November 14, 2024
Outsiders are going to read this and say Man, you’re tripping! Super Bowl? Bengals? You’re just being a homer. Trust me, I get it. I have friends who laugh at me when I tell them this. But recent history and statistics back up my theory.
Yes, the Bengals are a 4-6 team through 10 weeks. Since 2020, the Super Bowl champions have been 7-3 (2020 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 2021 Los Angeles Rams, 2023 Kansas City Chiefs) and the 2022 Chiefs were an incredible 8-2. So based on records alone, Cincinnati isn’t anywhere near a championship-caliber team.
But hear me on this: Through 10 weeks, the Bengals have racked up 270 points. That far outpaces the 2023 Chiefs, who had 225, and is just one behind the 2021 Rams, who had arguably one of the best offensive performances of the decade by a non-Patrick Mahomes player (We’ll get to that later).
The 2020 Bucs had 296 points, and the 2022 Chiefs scored 300. That’s just three points per game more than this 4-6 Bengals team. On offensive production alone, the Bengals are definitely at the threshold of Super Bowl-caliber.
Burrow has been playing lights-out, leading the league in both passing yards and tied for touchdowns. But how does this stack up against the 2020s champions through 10 games?
Tom Brady, 2020: 2,739 yards; 23 TDs
Matthew Stafford, 2021: 3,014 yards; 24 TDs
Mahomes, 2022: 3,265 yards; 28 TDs
Mahomes, 2023: 2,619 yards; 19 TDs
Burrow, 2024: 2,672 yards; 24 TDs
Mahomes (in 2022, perhaps the peak of his powers) and arguably Stafford blow Burrow’s yardage out of the water, but Burrow’s stats are right in line with Brady and the 2023 version of Mahomes. In terms of touchdown passes, he’s toe-to-toe with almost anyone.
Let’s do the same exercise for Chase, stacking him up against the top pass-catchers of these teams through 10 games:
Mike Evans, 2020: 40 catches; 514 yards; 8 TDs
Cooper Kupp, 2021: 85 catches; 1,141 yards; 10 TDs
Travis Kelce, 2022: 69 catches; 855 yards; 11 TDs
Kelce, 2023: 64 catches; 641 yards; 5 TDs
Chase, 2024: 66 catches; 981 yards; 10 TDs
You can put what Chase is doing against any of these receivers, except Kupp in what was perhaps the best wide receiver season ever. Having that elite QB-to-WR battery is a huge piece of the puzzle to winning a Super Bowl, and Burrow and Chase means that Cincinnati has that foundation in place.
Looking at these stats, you have to be beyond pumped to have a championship-caliber skill level at the two most important spots on the field. At 4-6, that provides a faint glimmer of hope to Bengals fans, but sadly, the excitement stops there.
As fun as it is to imagine what this team could do with a barely below-average defense… the fact is that Cincinnati doesn’t have a barely below-average defense. Unless they can turn that around (and it’s been 10 weeks, so…) that makes the Bengals very much not a team to watch out for.
Going back to stacking up Cincinnati against these Super Bowl teams, there’s only one stat that the Bengals easily led in. It’s not a great one, either.
Points Allowed Through 10 Games:
2020 Bucs: 226
2021 Rams: 227
2022 Chiefs: 236
2023 Chiefs: 161
2024 Bengals: 262
Hey, remember how the Bengals have 270 points? That’s right, the Bengals have just a plus-8 point differential. Comparing them to the Super Bowl teams, they range from a point differential of plus-44 (2021 Rams) to plus-70 (2020 Bucs).
And that’s threatening to be the story of the 2024 Bengals. A team that had their best QB and WR in team history, arguably playing the best football of their careers, and wasted it. Cincinnati has a well-polished, high-powered machine on offense, but their defense has them to a point where they can barely break even from a point differential standpoint, and are underwater in the win-loss column. Unless something changes fast, it’ll be the single-biggest tragedy in franchise history.
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