It wasn’t pretty at times, but the Cincinnati Bengals went into MetLife Stadium and scored a 17-7 win over the New York Giants to move to 2-4 on the season. A loss would have been crushing, dropping the team to 1-5 and all but losing the season. At 2-4 with some winnable games on the horizon, the Bengals may have saved their season.
Entering the week, the Bengals were tied for the worst record at 1-4 and were sitting at No. 2 in the draft order, behind only the New England Patriots. The Bengals won, while the Patriots, Jaguars, Browns, and Panthers all fell to 1-5. So what does the draft order look like for the Bengals after six weeks?
The Bengals now sit at No. 8 in the order. In addition to the four 1-5 teams, the Rams and Titans are both 1-4. There are a handful of teams, six to be exact, that hold a 2-4 record. Of the six, the Bengals have the second-easiest schedule, behind only the New York Jets.
Here is the current top ten in the draft:
1. New England Patriots 1-5
2. Cleveland Browns 1-5
3. Jacksonville Jaguars 1-5
4. Carolina Panthers 1-5
5. Los Angeles Rams 1-4
6. Tennessee Titans 1-4
7. New York Jets 2-4
8. Cincinnati Bengals 2-4
9. New Orleans Saints 2-4
10. Arizona Cardinals 2-4
As far as their playoff chances, according to ESPN (through Sunday’s games), the Bengals were at 35 percent to make the playoffs with just a 5 percent chance to win the AFC North. The Bengals are now two games back in the AFC North. They do sit just one game back of a wild card spot. The Colts hold the last spot at 3-3. The Bengals are behind the eight-ball early on with their 0-3 start in conference play.
