The Bengals franchise has an all-time record of 272-354-2. So I got to thinking: What would the Bengals have to average, per year, in order to achieve an overall record of .500?

If the Bengals averaged a record of 10-6, it would take them over 21 seasons. If the Bengals averaged a record of 11-5, it would take 14 seasons and with an average 12-4 season, it would take over 10 seasons. And if the Bengals averaged a record of 9-7, it would take 41 seasons to finally achieve .500 all-time.

I figured this out using the following "formula". I subtracted wins (272) from the team's losses (354) to get 82 -- the difference between wins and losses. I subtracted wins from losses on the corresponding records (example: 12 wins minus 4 losses is a difference of 8). I divided eight into 82 to come up with 10.25. That would be how many seasons it would take to achieve .500. I checked my work by multiplying 10.25 into 12 wins and 4 losses to get 123-41. I added that record into their existing record and got 395-395.

I didn't factor in the Bengals two ties; because I simply wanted an idea of how far away the Bengals are from achieving a .500 all-time record. After calculating the depressing results, I had my idea. And then I realized it was probably a bad idea to promote how bad the Bengals have been in the past -- especially since Mike Brown took over (101-186-1).