Mapquest: Bengals -> Playoffs

I think the general conclusion would be 10 wins gets you in. So at this point right now, we would need games to go a certain way to guarantee a Bengals playoff spot. I have also added a poll to show most people think 10 wins will get you in.

AFC EAST W L T PCT HOME ROAD DIV CONF

New England 9 3 0 .750 5-1-0 4-2-0 3-1-0 7-2-0

NY Jets 7 5 0 .583 5-1-0 2-4-0 3-2-0 5-5-0

AFC NORTH W L T PCT HOME ROAD DIV CONF

Pittsburgh 10 3 0 .769 6-1-0 4-2-0 3-2-0 8-3-0

Baltimore 9 3 0 .750 6-0-0 3-3-0 4-0-0 6-2-0

Cincinnati 7 5 0 .583 3-2-0 4-3-0 2-3-0 6-4-0

Cleveland 4 9 0 .308 3-4-0 1-5-0 0-4-0 3-7-0 1

AFC SOUTH W L T PCT HOME ROAD DIV CONF

Houston 9 3 0 .750 5-1-0 4-2-0 4-0-0 7-2-0

Tennessee 7 5 0 .583 4-2-0 3-3-0 1-2-0 5-4-0

Jacksonville 3 9 0 .250 2-4-0 1-5-0 2-2-0 3-7-0

Indianapolis 0 12 0 .000 0-6-0 0-6-0 0-3-0 0-8-0

AFC WEST W L T PCT HOME ROAD DIV CONF

Denver 7 5 0 .583 2-3-0 5-2-0 3-2-0 6-3-0

Oakland 7 5 0 .583 3-3-0 4-2-0 2-2-0 5-5-0

Kansas City 5 7 0 .417 2-4-0 3-3-0 2-2-0 3-6-0

San Diego 5 7 0 .417 3-3-0 2-4-0 2-3-0 4-5-0

With New England, Houston, Baltimore, and Steelers pretty much heading into the playoffs. There is one wild card open and a division winner to be determined. Denver or Oakland will win the division with 8 or 9 wins. Which is okay, because the Bengals still can win up to 10-11 games. This leaves the Jets and Titans as the biggest threats. I have listed out different scenarios to show games that have the most importance and what outcome needs to happen for the Bengals to make it in.

Let’s say the Bengals beat Houston, St Louis, and Arizona. Leaving them at 10-6 overall and 7-5 in the conference.

The Jets:

Need Losses to: the Chiefs or Dolphins

I can see the Jets finishing 2-2 in their last four games. But if they were to go 3-1 the only loss will have a 50% chance to be against the Chiefs or Dolphins. And if that happens, the Bengals get tie breaker because they will have a better conference record than 6-6.

The Titans:

Need Losses to: Any team!

This scenario is easy because we beat them head to head. So we just need to have the same record as the Titans. And they will most likely have losses against the Saints and Houston. But one will do.

AND JUST IN CASE WE DON'T GET 10 wins.

Let’s say the Bengals Beat St. Louis and Arizona. Leaving them at 9-7 overall and 6-6 in the conference.

The Jets:

Need Losses to: Chiefs and Dolphins

This still could be a possibility but chances aren’t as great. The will leave the Jets 9-7 overall and have 5-7 in the conference.

The Titans:

Need Losses to: Any two teams.

This scenario is simple again because we have the tie breaker.

And for those who wonder why I left Denver and Oakland out as threats. I took them out because their remaining schedule is amongst the most difficult. Denver plays against Chicago, New England, Buffalo and Kansas City. And Oakland faces Green Bay, Detroit, Kansas City, and San Diego. Which all of these games will be difficult for Denver and Oakland to win any. So I can actually see another Seattle situation, where a losing team gets in from the AFC West.