Following their loss to the Ravens in week 15, the Bengals were officially eliminated from playoff contention. While the remaining three weeks will still be valuable from an evaluational standpoint, they will also be pivotal in determining the final draft order. The Bengals currently sit in the 9th position, but more losing will allow that pick to rise. Below, I’ll take a look at the teams competing with each other for a higher draft slot. After each week, the chart will be updated in a new article.
| Team: | Current Record: | Week 16: | Week 17: | Week 18: |
| New York Giants | 2-12 | vs MIN | @ LV | vs DAL |
| Las Vegas Raiders | 2-12 | @ HOU | vs NYG | vs KC |
| Tennessee Titans | 2-12 | vs KC | vs NO | @ JAX |
| Cleveland Browns | 3-11 | vs BUF | vs PIT | @ CIN |
| New York Jets | 3-11 | @ NO | vs NE | @ BUF |
| Arizona Cardinals | 3-11 | vs ATL | @ CIN | @ LAR |
| New Orleans Saints | 4-10 | vs NYJ | @ TEN | @ ATL |
| Washington Commanders | 4-10 | vs PHI | vs DAL | @ PHI |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 4-10 | @ MIA | vs ARI | vs CLE |
| Atlanta Falcons | 5-9 | @ ARI | vs LAR | vs NO |
| Miami Dolphins | 6-8 | vs CIN | vs TB | @ NE |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 6-8 | @ TEN | vs DEN | @ LV |
| Minnesota Vikings | 6-8 | @ NYG | vs DET | vs GB |
| Dallas Cowboys | 6-7-1 | vs LAC | @ WAS | @ NYG |
In each of their final two games, the Bengals face opponents who are close to them in the standings. Miami is two games up, meaning a loss this Sunday would prevent the Bengals from picking behind them.
In weeks 17 and 18, respectively, the Bengals play teams who currently sit at 3 wins, compared to Cincinnati’s 4. Losses in their final three games would allow the Bengals to jump the Cardinals, and perhaps the Browns as well, depending on how other games and tiebreakers play out.
As seen in the chart, multiple teams in there will end up playing each other at some point in the final three weeks, which means that we know some wins will be collected by some of them.
While extended losing can be tough to handle, dropping their final three games would set the Bengals up with a nice draft pick to take with them into the offseason.
As mentioned above, a new article will come out after each remaining week of the season, updating this situation.
