Bengals have smallest chance at AFC North crown despite Week 10 results

The Cincinnati Bengals enjoyed some much-needed time off in Week 10 and also enjoyed some very fortunate results from their AFC North brethren.

The Baltimore Ravens lost to the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night, the Cleveland Browns got absolutely destroyed by the New England Patriots and the Pittsburgh Steelers (without Ben Roethlisberger) tied with the winless Detroit Lions (which means 8-8-1 is officially a possibility!).

Despite all that, the Bengals still have the lowest odds to win the division, per ESPN’s Football Power Index.

Part of that stems from the Bengals’ remaining schedule. Five of Cincinnati’s remaining eight games are against teams with winning records and two others are 5-5. Their only remaining game left against a team with a losing record is against San Francisco.

Four of those remaining games are against current AFC playoff teams (Steelers, Chargers, Ravens, Chiefs). But the good news is all four of those games are at home.

So needless to say, the Bengals have a brutal but very important stretch down the line, starting with Sunday’s game against the Raiders in Vegas. But after that, Cincinnati has five of the final seven at home, including a three-game homestand against the Steelers, Chargers and 49ers.

Projected chances of winning AFC North
(Entering Week 11)

Ravens 59%
Browns 19.6%
Steelers 12.9%
Bengals 8.4%

Source: ESPN’s Football Power Index

— Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) November 15, 2021