NFL Power Rankings: The Bengals Surge Even With A Bye Week

One of the best aspects about a bye week with a team is trending with a three-game winning streak, is the momentum people have for that respective team. Additionally the flavor of Bengals football tastes so sweet, especially after Bengals president Mike Brown worked out a trade that brought a first round and second round pick to Cincinnati in favor for "retired" quarterback Carson Palmer. Things are looking up. And you have to look no further than this week's power rankings.

Of the six major power rankings we monitor, and we sure there's plenty more, the Bengals are ranked, on average between 12th and 13th. Pro Football Talk ranked the Bengals eighth, largely due to the Palmer trade whereas ESPN generated the lowest ranking at 16th. In nearly every case, save for two (NFL.com and SB Nation), the Bengals jumped multiple positions, as much as four spots (PFT and Pete Prisco's CBS Sports ranking. Pro Football Talk and Brian Billick (Fox Sports) jumped the Bengals, largely with the first mention being Cincinnati's big score on the Carson Palmer trade. Billick writes:

It was a good week's work even in a bye week. The Bengals picked up potentially two first-round draft picks by trading a player they had pretty much written off while sitting at 4-2 with a three-game winning streak. The Bengals have a great chance of improving to 6-2 over the next two weeks, but then they have to face the Steelers and Ravens back to back. If they can split that tandem, they will be in business.