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It's nice to say it out loud, but the Bengals are firmly planted as one of the best teams in the NFL this year. They have a number of nice wins and stand at 5-2 atop the AFC North with a comfortable two-game lead. One could argue that all five of their wins have been quality ones, given their opponents. But, if you really want to nitpick, the masses would say that three of the five were truly against good teams this year.
Not to be outdone, the Indianapolis Colts have had a run of nice wins as well. Despite a poor showing on monday Night Football against the Chargers last week, they rebounded nicely with a huge home win against the Denver Broncos--a team unanimously touted as tops in the NFL this year. The Colts have also had a collection of nice notches in their belt this year and have been praised for it.
So, which team's resume speaks louder volumes this year?
The Bengals have beat the Steelers (2-4), Packers (4-2) and Patriots (5-2) at home, as well as the Bills (3-4) and the Lions (4-3) on the road. The collective record of those teams is 18-15.
The Colts, on the other hand, have beat the Raiders (2-4), Seahawks (6-1) and Broncos (6-1) at home, as well as the Jaguars (0-7) and 49ers (5-2) on the road. The collective record of their wins here comes to 19-15.