Cincinnati Bengals Bye Week Check-in

The Bengals are coming off a 41-16 loss to the Cleveland Browns for the Battle For Ohio. That was a game that was full of mistakes for the Bengals and capitalizations by the Browns. The Browns improved 5-4 to take the third position in the AFC North.

The Bengals are also 5-4 but last because the Browns have the head-to-head matchup win. Cincinnati was the best team in the AFC two weeks ago but lost to both the New York Jets and the Cleveland Browns in consecutive weeks.

The AFC is still very close, with the Baltimore Ravens leading the charge with a 6-2 and the Steelers at 4-3. The Bengals have a bye week this week to regroup and work on some of the things they have strayed away from in these past couple of weeks.

Let's look at the upcoming schedule for the Bengals to analyze their position going into the second half of the season and see which games are must-wins.

Upcoming Bengals Schedule

The Bengals have eight games left in their regular season, including seven that have winning records. The good news is most of those teams have very similar records to the Bengals so winning those games is not out of the question.

Cincinnati took care of much of their away scheduled games, making these tougher matchups a little easier in front of their home crowd. So, what non-divisional games are must-wins for these young Bengals looking for a playoff berth?

San Francisco 49ers at Cincinnati Bengals Week 14

The 49ers are the one team that the Bengals will face who have a losing record right now. The Bengals need every "easy" game they can get if they want to steal a playoff spot. Their position is much worse than a couple of weeks ago, making this a must-win game at Paul Brown Stadium.

Kansas City Chiefs at Cincinnati Bengals Week 17

The Bengals will face the Ravens in a tough matchup in Week 16 at home against the Ravens. In Week 17 against the Chiefs, Cincinnati will take on Patrick Mahomes in the Bengals' last home game of the season that will be a needed win in what is expected to be a tight AFC North race.

A little momentum going into the matchup against the Browns in Cleveland will be welcomed if the young Bengals are still in a spot to fight for a playoff position at this point in the season.

Realistic Conclusion

The Bengals have dropped their quality and need to find their way back to their winning ways to silence the doubters who are not laughing after their performance this past weekend. They have faced each team in the AFC North one time and have beaten the better two or three away.

Cincinnati is in a prime position to turn it around in this bye week and come into week 11 at the Las Vegas Raiders to make a statement win to start the second half of the season on the right foot. We will see if this team shows any more resilience or the same Bengals that we know and blindly accept.