“I Didn’t Need You to Correct Me”: Chad Johnson Argues With Shannon Sharpe Over Bengals’ 2% Playoff Odds

The Cincinnati Bengals playoff odds are as slim as they can get entering Week 15, but Chad Johnson isn’t ready to throw in the towel. The former Bengal was captured on his podcast with Shannon Sharpe, Night Cap, defending his team’s 2 percent chance at making the postseason. And unsurprisingly, Shannon wasn’t having it.

Following the Bengals’ 27-20 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Monday night football, Johnson was feeling himself. He came on the show hot, saying Ja’Marr Chase is going to win the receiving triple crown.

Then he claimed Joe Burrow is the best quarterback in the league at the moment and should get some MVP votes. He also asserted that if the Bengals can sneak into the playoffs, they’re a team nobody would want to face.

“If we happen to go on a run, and for some reason, slither into the playoffs… we are a team nobody is going to want to see, offensively,” Johnson professed.

A bold claim to make, especially without knowing the exact odds the Bengals hold. Johnson then followed his monologue by asking what the Bengals odds are currently to make the playoffs.

“The Bengals have less than a 2 percent chance to make the playoffs,” Sharpe said in response — a number that baffled Johnson. He surely thought the Bengals had a better chance than that.

But Ocho tried to make light of the situation, saying it’s actually not that bad of a chance. He related the phrase “2 percent” to everyday items people use or require, like milk in their coffee or a client’s fee to their agent. But Sharpe retorted that agents usually, at minimum, take 10%.

“Okay, I didn’t need you to correct me,” Johnson hilariously responded, getting a lighthearted chuckle out of Sharpe. It was a classic exchange between the two that showed Johnson’s everlasting loyalty to his former team.

What’s wrong with Johnson’s Bengals?

For the Bengals, just about everything that could have gone wrong has. Before the season, Ja’Marr Chase held out of training camp until just days before the first game. That rocky start got the team off on the wrong foot, but he returned without a deal and has performed amazingly this year. Still, the beginning wasn’t great, and they lost their first three games to the Patriots, Chiefs, and Commanders.

Since then, they’ve had great wins against weaker teams like the Panthers, Giants, and Cowboys. However, they also struggled against better competition, with losses to the Eagles, Steelers, and twice against the Ravens. The main issue has been the defense. They rank 29th in points allowed and the same spot for opposing rushing yards allowed per game.

Anytime the Bengals’ offense scores a lot of points, the defense somehow manages to give up even more. Their record in games where they score 30 points or more is 2-4. If they’re going to make a playoff run, the Bengals will need to stop opposing rushing offenses more effectively and reduce the number of points they give up. However, with just four games left to play and a 5-8 record, their chances are slim.