If you are a Cincinnati Bengal fan give yourself a round of applause. You’ve been through a meat grinder. Your patience has been tested, your heart has been broken, you’ve been absolutely overjoyed, and you now are at the point where you have to wait on glass and needles to see if your team will make the playoffs.
I guess it could be worse. You could be a fan of the New Orleans Saints, New York Jets, New England Patriots, or Jacksonville Jaguars. All the aforementioned teams had very little winning in 2024 if any. All the teams will be rewarded for their losing efforts with a top pick in the 2025 draft.
Then you have the fans of the elite teams. Fans of the Chiefs, Bills, Lions, Eagles and Vikings. Some fans of those teams are actually plotting ways to call off work or play hookie from school to attend a possible Super Bowl parade. They all have a chance at the NFL’s highest team award. The Vince Lombardi Super Bowl Trophy.
Bengal fans are kind of in the middle of the pact. Cincy won’t have a top pick, but, sorry, we are not amongst the elite in the NFL this year. As a matter of fact, Bengal fans have to wait until week 18. That will be the final week of the NFL season to see if they even made the playoffs. There simply has not been a season in more recent memory where fans were kept on the edge of their seat more than in 2024 in Cincinnati. Two games with Baltimore, Los Angeles, Washington and Kansas City. All went down to the final minutes. All ended up in Bengal fan disappointment with the Bengals losing. Had the team managed to win just one of the games, they would probably be solidified in the playoffs now.
The single biggest disappointment for the 2024 season will go down as the week 1 loss to the New England Patriots. The Patriots had a brand new coach and are amongst the worst teams in the league. Somehow, the Bengals found a way to lose to the Patriots at home. Should the Bengals not make the playoffs, most fans will look back at the week 1 loss and point to the game as the one that did them in.
Despite the positioning, Cincy fans will get one last week of hope. One last week to dream of a magical run to the Super Bowl. A Cincinnati win, Denver loss, and Miami loss will mean a chance. Any other scenarios, fans can put the orange and black face paint away, hang up the Joe Burrow jerseys, and stop the Who Dey chants until the end of the summer of 2025.
Feature Image: Bengals fans had something to cheer about in the home game here last Saturday as they defeated the Denver Broncos in overtime. Photo By Michael Mitchell