“Don’t Think Anybody Wants to See the Bengals in the Playoffs”: Panthers Legend on Why the Steelers Should Go All-Out in Season Finale

The Cincinnati Bengals were left for dead after they started 0-3. And again when they ran their record to an ugly 4-8. However, they have not lost since then. A thrilling 30-24 OT triumph over the Denver Broncos on Saturday brought them to 8-8 and kept their ever-so-slim playoff hopes alive. Carolina Panthers great Luke Kuechly now thinks they could be one of the most dangerous teams in the tournament if they get in.

And he’s not alone. A lot of us in the NFL media have been looking sideways at the Bengals for a few weeks now. We’ve been hoping that they’d pick up just one more loss and make their failed playoff bid official.

When asked whether their Week 18 opponents, the Pittsburgh Steelers, should go all out in Week 18, Kuechly said what everyone else was thinking: no one “wants to see the Bengals in the playoffs” with the way that offense is playing right now.

“I think you (the Steelers) go after ’em, especially early in the (season finale) game, and try and get something going. And also I don’t think anyone wants to see the Bengals in the playoffs. You look at who they’d play, they’d be the 7, so they’d probably play Buffalo right? I don’t think Buffalo wants—I don’t think anybody wants anything to do with the Cincinnati Bengals right now.”

If the Bengals did sneak into the playoffs as the No. 7 seed, Kuechly is correct, they would be playing the Buffalo Bills, who have locked in on the No. 2 seed. Recently, Joe Burrow and company went into Western New York and beat the brakes off the Bills 27-10 in a snowy Divisional playoff matchup with Buffalo.

That was just two years ago, so it wouldn’t be surprising if that was still on their minds. It could be billboard material for the Bills, who should be looking for revenge. But they should also consider how hot these stripey boys have really been over the last month during this four-game winning streak.

Over the last four weeks, Cincy has averaged 29.5 points per game (10th) and 407 yards per game (5th). Joe Burrow has been the catalyst, as he’s thrown for 250+ yards and 3+ TDs in eight straight games, including a 412-yard, three-TD display against the Broncos with the season on the line last week.

Obviously, this is a scary team right now. However, there was really no chance the Steelers were ever going to sit their guys in Week 18 anyway, even with their playoff berth clinched. They have already lost three in a row; they won’t want to enter the postseason on a four-game skid.

They are also the No. 5 seed right now, and if they win in Week 18, they stay there and play the No. 4 Houston Texans in round one, by far the easiest matchup.

However, if they lose to the Bengals, the Los Angeles Chargers could leapfrog Pittsburgh for the No. 5 spot, leaving them as the No. 6 seed and headed back to Baltimore for another matchup with the Ravens. That’s far from ideal, given what happened when they visited Maryland a couple of weeks ago.

As of this writing, the surging Bengals are -215 odds favorites on the road against Pittsburgh in Week 18. However, they need so much help to get in that they have just +1,400 odds to make the postseason.