It’s getting harder for anyone to realistically downplay the accomplishments of the Cincinnati Bengals this season.
Those 5-2 Bengals just walked into Baltimore and laughed the Ravens out of the building in 41-17 fashion.
And this theme gets reflected often in power rankings.
The rankings from USA Today’s Nate Davis, for example, jump the Bengals all the way up to eight:
8. Bengals (13): All the chatter about Cincinnati’s (current) No. 1 seed and rookie WR Ja’Marr Chase’s record-setting start is warranted. But props to TE C.J. Uzomah, who’s rebounded from last year’s torn Achilles and has already hauled in a career-best five TDs.
NFL.com has the same slot for the Bengals, with an important bit tucked into the writeup:
“Cincinnati has moved into a tie with Baltimore atop the division. and none of this feels unsustainable, with Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase producing at historic levels together. From the NFL Research team: Chase (35/754/6) has the most receiving yards by any player through his first seven career games in NFL history. It’s still not too late to delete your “They should have taken Penei Sewell!” takes on social media. Scrub away! Save your Smart Football Internet Person reputation!”
That part about this being sustainable is 100 percent true. An elite-looking defense and great offense suggest the Bengals can play with anybody in any week. That would explain why they are the top seed in the AFC.
