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With the Bengals beating the Philadelphia Eagles during Thursday Night football, it puts pressure on the Ravens, Steelers and Jets when factoring postseason scenarios.
BENGALS ALIVE FOR AFC NORTH CHAMPIONSHIP
Despite how you feel after the team's Thursday night performance, the division title remains within Cincinnati's reach mathematically. But we're talking perfect planetary alignment and ideal scenarios stuff here. Yet Baltimore's schedule promotes the discussion.
If the Bengals beat the Steelers and Ravens to close the regular season in Week 16 and 17 respectively, and if the Ravens lose to the Denver Broncos and New York Giants (obviously losing to the Bengals) Cincinnati will win the AFC North. That's as simple as it gets.
Unfortunately if the Ravens beat the Broncos or Giants, they claim tiebreakers against the Bengals, even if Cincinnati wins the Week 17 division battle.
BENGALS CAN ELIMINATE PITTSBURGH
Assuming that the Dallas Cowboys beat the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, if the Bengals beat Pittsburgh next week, Cincinnati improves to 9-6 and the Steelers fall to 7-8 with one game remaining.
Thus eliminating the Steelers from a postseason appearance, which only seems appropriate if someone trivially recalls 2006.
JETS ANNOYINGLY REMAIN
It's there. The possibility. And we have to account for it.
Let's presume that the Jets beat the Titans, Chargers and Bills. Now let's presume that the Bengals either lose to the Steelers or Ravens while also presuming that the Steelers lose to the Cowboys and Browns. If that exact scenario happens, the Jets hold the tiebreaker over the Bengals for best winning percentage in the conference.
So hoping for the Jets to lose is a good idea.