The Cincinnati Bengals finally have some serious momentum in the power rankings.
While those in charge of power rankings were hesitant to give the Bengals a nice push up the rankings despite recent wins, the triumph over the Kansas City Chiefs has changed things.
In one set of rankings, that win was enough to move the Bengals from ninth to right into the top five.
The writeup from USA Today’s Nate Davis:
“4. Bengals (9): Their second-half surge is starting to resemble the 2021 wave they rode all the way to the Super Bowl. Winners of four in a row, the past two coming over division leaders (Tennessee, Kansas City), they’ve also fully unlocked RB2 Samaje Perine as the latest weapon in a fifth-ranked offense’s arsenal.”
It’s impossible to ignore the Bengals now. We knew Joe Burrow and Co. looked solid without Ja’Marr Chase in key wins. But a third win over the Chiefs in the 2022 calendar year has quickly won over the national audience.
Fittingly, one of the only teams above the Bengals in the rankings now is the Buffalo Bills, a team the Bengals will meet on Monday Night Football in Week 17.
That’s a game with massive, massive AFC implications, though the Bengals will have to remain steady against Cleveland, Tampa Bay and New England first.
