This Bengals team is too good for us to not see in the playoffs.
The NFL’s pre-Christmas Sunday slate is in the books and what a glorious round of football action it was.
While there is still some question as to whether or not the RedZone channel will remain commercial-free for the rest of time there is zero question that the San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals will all be headed home when the regular season concludes. They were each eliminated from playoff contention on Sunday.
That was just part of the madness that this week threw at us as you hopefully watched it all and weren’t out getting last-minute gifts (no judgment if so). If you were indeed wrapped up (maybe wrapping?!) then we are here to walk you through the most important things that you need to know for when you see Aunt Sue this week.
This is The Skinny Post and we are Michael Peterson and RJ Ochoa.
RJ:
The Bengals won their third game in a row on Sunday, but more importantly Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase continued their quest to combine for a million yards this season.
I’m a firm believer in that teams dig their own holes so I don’t think that the Bengals are somehow victims here. They were 4-8 before winning these last 3 and have only themselves to blame for the fact that odds are against them reaching the postseason tournament.
But if we are just talking out loud... wouldn’t you rather see Burrow and Chase with everything on the line than what the Miami Dolphins have going on right now? Aren’t they a more preferable option than just about anybody else right now?
Let’s find a way to get the Bengals in. They deserve it.
Michael:
I believe as far as “fun” teams go this year, the Bengals are certainly up there due to Burrow and Chase’s play, alone. Everyone loves a high-flying duo in the NFL and these two are certainly on their way to building one of the best cases for being the next legendary “QB-WR duo” in league annals.
If their defense could take a few steps forward these next two weeks, then I’d argue even more that they likely deserve to be in there, but holy smokes are the remaining schedules very contrasting for Cincy and Miami.
The Dolphins get the Browns and Jets who have a combined record of 7-23 this year. The Bengals get the Broncos and Steelers, both of whom are currently slated to make the playoffs and have a combined record of 19-11. The Dolphins just seem so...”blegh”... after the initial hype the past few seasons.
Also, we can’t forget about the Colts just yet. They have the Giants (2-13) and Jaguars (3-12) to end the year and could easily finish 9-8 with the Dolphins. They also have the tiebreaker over the Dolphins due to beating them 16-10 earlier this year and to be honest, I’d rather watch Anthony Richardson in the playoffs than Miami, as well.
Michael:
Not every team who has success through most of the season is able to finish the year on the same note. Some teams enter Week 14 or 15 with the playoffs squarely in their sights only to drop the final few games and see their postseason spot snatched up by another team that did NOT look like they had a chance as recently as a few weeks ago.
The Cardinals are a squad that comes to mind in this scenario. They were 6-4 after winning four consecutive games from October 21st-November 19th. Since, they’ve gone 1-4, have fallen to 7-8, and are now third in their division behind the Seahawks and Rams.
This team was playing very solid ball behind a strong run game led by James Conner. Unfortunately it just seems like all momentum was suddenly stricken from them and they’re now floating in a weird purgatory of another meaningless season.
Is there another team that’s fumbled away a seemingly-meaningful season harder this season than the Cardinals?
RJ:
I’m going to zig where everyone is zagging right now and go with the Las Vegas Raiders.
I understand that tanking is a forbidden thing among NFL teams, players and coaches. We can all reckon with that and continue this conversation.
That being said... winning on Sunday was so costly for them. They have all but assured that the Giants will have the rights to the top quarterback in the draft and have now taken themselves not only out of Travis Hunter territory, but to a place where they are going to have to spend to get the second quarterback in all likelihood.
This can sometimes work out (see the Houston Texans and C.J. Stroud), but if you are a Raiders fan then you have crawled through all of this mud and for what now? There is not even a payoff for a horrible season. Antonio Pierce ruined it all.
RJ:
In my mind the “chalk” winners right now are the Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions. You can put them in whatever order you want. Add the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers for good measure, I suppose.
As we close the book on December... I think that I think the least chalk winner is probably the Minnesota Vikings. But they are sort of chalk-y themselves. I mean, they might wind up with the number one seed in the NFC for crying out loud.
Expanding my horizons a bit I think that the Los Angeles Rams might be an incredibly dangerous team at the moment. I recognize that Sunday was hardly their best outing, but the team that went shot for shot with Buffalo is still in there. Sean McVay is one of the best play-callers entering the playoffs.
Give me the Rams. Fine.
Michael:
That game against the Bills was so insane. This Rams team, whenever they’ve got their quarterback, receiver duo, and running back all together and healthy at the same time, seem like one of the best offenses in the NFL. Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua are legitimately two of the best and most trustworthy pass catcher in the league and when you’ve got the type of veteran gunslinger like Stafford under center, the possibilities of your offense do nothing but expand.
The things is, I’ve been waiting for the Vikings to finally show me that they’re in the middle of a fluky season where they just keeping lucking out in these close games each week. However, it’s the end of Week 16 and the Vikings have still only lost two games this year. Like, I think it’s probably dumb of me to hold onto this feeling any longer, but what about the 2022 playoffs? When they lost to the Giants after a similar regular season? I just can’t shake that game from my head.
I’ll go with the Vikings here, but I don’t feel all that great about it.
Michael:
Oh heck yeah. I friggin’ love Christmas time. Let’s do this!
Favorite Christmas movie: Klaus. It’s a Netflix original movie and I cannot express enough how much I love this movie. I truly think it deserves to be a holiday classic for years and years to come. It’s a phenomenal origin story to the concept of Santa Claus and how he began the annual tradition of delivering presents to children. J.K. Simmons plays the titular “Klaus” while the rest of the cast features Rashida Jones (“Parks and Rec”) and the late, great Norm Macdonald.
Favorite Christmas song: Right now, I’m vibing really hard with “Merry Christmas” by Ed Sheeran & Elton John. It’s newer, but they absolutely nailed their collaboration. It’s cheery, intimate, and encompasses just about everything that makes Christmas great.
Favorite Christmas treat: As much as the baked goods do it for me, I’m a huge fan of seasonal drinks. I’m going to go with a peppermint hot chocolate complete with whipped cream and shaved peppermint on top. Yeah, I know that sounds super boujee, but that’s just how I like to do Christmas.
RJ:
I love this.
Favorite Christmas movie: I’m going to go with a classic and offer Home Alone. It is super quotable, identifiable and full of things that people who watched it when they were kids can now rightfully question as adults. How did Mr. McCallister’s brother foot the bill for his entire family to travel to Paris AND have that insane house?! I know it was the 90s, but what did this dude do for a living?
Favorite Christmas song: There is one correct answer here and it is “Mis Deseos / Feliz Navidad” from Michael Buble’s Christmas album. It is fun, bouncy and the perfect kind of song for a television special where it is all being performed. Checks all of the boxes.
Favorite Christmas treat: I’ll say that this is kind of a winter-y treat for me in general and not specific to the Christmas holiday, but give me some puppy chow (AKA Muddy Buddies) all day long. I’m not even going to write anymore because I just remembered that I have some so I am out of here.
