The Cincinnati Bengals are one of three NFL teams that failed to avoid the dreaded 0-3 start to the season.
After inexcusably dropping the home opener to the New England Patriots in Week 1, the Bengals seemingly found their form in a narrow loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2. Things appeared to be moving in the right direction.
However, Monday night's 38-33 loss against the Washington Commanders pushed the Bengals toward another week without a win, and their chances of making the playoffs have plummeted.
Despite being heavy favorites in two of those games, the Bengals now officially have their backs against the wall.
Can Bengals make the playoffs after 0-3 start?
Anything can happen in the NFL, and the parity across the league has never been more present than the start of the 2024 season.
But it's going to be a tough hill to climb for Joe Burrow and the Bengals. Since 1990, only six teams that started a season 0-3 made the playoffs (2.5%) and just one team has done it since 2000.
From Vinnie Iyer of Sporting News, here's a look at the six teams that accomplished the feat:
- 1981 Jets: 10-5-1 (AFC wild card)
- 1982 Buccaneers: 5-4 (NFC wild card, strike-shortened season)
- 1992 Chargers: 11-5 (AFC West champions)
- 1995 Lions: 10-6 (NFC wild card)
- 1998 Bills: 10-6 (AFC wild card)
- 2018 Texans: 11-5 (AFC South champions)
The good news for the Bengals is that they are still just one game behind for second place in the division and there are only six teams with better records than them in the AFC.
The bad news is the Bengals defense has gotten off to a horrendous start and between questions about depth and injury concerns, it may not get much better as the season progresses.
So while it's possible the Bengals make the playoffs after an 0-3 start, their margin for error is essentially non-existent from this point on.
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