Rise of the Bengals: When was it last time? – NFL Feature
The Cincinnati Bengals reached playoffs in the 2011 National Football League (NFL) season through a wild card opportunity that was down on the matter of luck rather than performance.
Still it was a chance worth availed by a side that hardly makes an effort for moving beyond the regular season. It has been the same old script for the Bengals to rewrite every year, and they have become much used to and much familiar with it.
Altogether the team has made to playoffs three times in their history, and only made it once successively for two years. Irrespective of the question when was it last time – the result was the same - loss.
Their loss of the last season was the historical one. They lost to a side that had just made to playoffs in their franchise history. They were minnows Houston Texans.
Again, this year appears to be the same old season for the Bengals. They started with a miserable loss and then it was an inconsistent progress all over again. With their efforts and even more boasting it seems that the Bengals cannot just come out of the
persistent sluggish trend.
They have transformed the unit many times, have brought in quality talent at almost all positions, and have tried out different strategies and schemes but for the same results.
Even their fans are baffled where their team is heading to, when as a matter of fact they know that they are heading nowhere. Last year some of the fans threatened to stay out of the stadium if the Bengals continued their losing streak but somehow they got
help through unexpected ousting of the New York Jets from the wild card race and ended up being in the playoffs.
The fans returned but for the only game which they saw their side succumbing to a rather young side. That trend is even witnessed this season. For example, they had almost won the game against the Miami Dolphins and ended up throwing it away.
Overall, it is an issue of inconsistency that is hurting the team’s progress to a respectable position in the league every season.
Although they are able to do slightly better but their situation is not much different from the Cleveland Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars. These teams end each season with five or four wins while the Bengals are able to add up to three victories more on
an average. The result however is very much the same for all of them – they finish each season well within the regular phase.
The Bengals need to perform consistently well to progress through to playoffs and beyond every now and then. They are well capable of it but it is just a matter of more effort than luck.
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