The Cincinnati Bengals don’t have anywhere to go but up after a 2-14 season.
But the sheer numbers aren’t the only reason experts don’t mind pointing out the team should be one of 2020’s most improved squads.
Tasked with naming just four teams bound to improve the most, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell listed the Bengals alongside Dallas. He pointed to just plain bad luck as a major theme, hence the loss of guys like A.J. Green and Jonah Williams last season.
He added:
“They struggled with the fifth-most injured offense in football by adjusted games lost. Red zone performance is relatively random from year to year, and while the Bengals ranked 21st in red zone trips last season, they were the second-worst offense in the league in terms of points per red zone possession. (They were the league’s second-best red zone offense in 2018.)”
Now add in an 0-7 mark in one-score games and the 13th-easiest FPI schedule and indeed, the Bengals should be improving on the record quite a bit in 2020.
There are other factors besides sheer luck just turning, too. This will be Year 2 for an organization with a new coaching staff for the first time in 16 years. Carryover players should be playing better in new schemes for new coaches. New arrivals in free agency like D.J. Reader should improve entire units, too. And don’t forget the big one — Joe Burrow under center.
Trendy pick or not, it’s hard to argue against the Bengals as one of likelier big improvers of 2020.
