Cincinnati Bengals consolidate AFC North lead just behind Baltimore Ravens – NFL News
The Cincinnati Bengals courtesy of a convincing victory over the San Diego Chargers on Sunday December 02 have consolidated their lead in American Football Conference (AFC) North, coming just two points closer to the Baltimore Ravens who lost their weekend’s
game to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Before going into the game the Bengals were reeling behind at 6-5 in AFC North, while the Steelers still behind them. Now they have gained an additional point in a sense that the Ravens have stayed at their previous positions. Their wins in the division
are still nine while losses increased to three.
A pair of more wins by the Bengals can tie them with the Ravens provided the latter lose their games too. The Bengals have still got a playoff chance better than Steelers.
The Steelers are still at No. 3 spot in the division and performance-wise they are struggling without quarterback Ben Roethlisberger who is out with a rib and shoulder injury. Even with Ben their start of the season was rather sluggish. So, their ups down
in the season have proven their inconsistent performance and they are on the risk of derailing from the playoff course.
On the other hand, the Bengals after losing a couple of consecutive games at start of the season have rather been consistent and have shown a greater promise in the performance than their closest competitors, the Steelers.
An important development for them is that their quarterback Andy Dalton has found his form and has been consistently playing well in last few games.
Coach Marvin Lewis has been pleased with the latest efforts of the quarterback and running back, as his warning to the pair of players has finally paid him off. The coach had warned these players to look for improvement in their form which had then been
unsatisfactory.
The Bengals just have to maintain current momentum of form and if they are able to pull off at least another pair of wins out of the four games left in the season, they can certainly qualify for the playoffs with or without a wild card. It appears the Bengals
have greater chances to make the playoffs than Steelers.
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