It’s not too hard to pin down where the Cincinnati Bengals land in power rankings ahead of their season opener against the Minnesota Vikings.
While undergoing a massive roster overhaul, the Bengals have won just six games under Zac Taylor over two seasons. It stands to reason that most power-rankers are taking a wait-and-see approach to the team.
USA Today’s Nate Davis slots the Bengals near the bottom:
28. Bengals (27): QB Joe Burrow’s only pass of preseason was dropped by former LSU teammate Ja’Marr Chase, so you’d assume things will only improve moving forward … though we are talking about Cincinnati.
So do the rankings at Touchdown Wire from Nick Wojton, where the Bengals slot 29th:
“The Bengals have too many questions to rank them much higher until some on-field production proves otherwise. Joe Burrow is coming off a knee injury under center and we didn’t see much of him this preseason. Plus, that offensive line isn’t much of an inspiration.”
Until the Bengals prove the talent on the roster finally fits what the coaches want to run — by stacking wins together — there’s going to be skepticism about the team in rankings.
Starting this process by beating the Vikings — ranked 14th in the second of the two rankings — is how the Bengals can start climbing.
