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With Week 9 over, there are now just three undefeated teams left standing in the NFL, the Cincinnati Bengals, New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers. That is the first time in NFL history that has ever happened, and history favors any team that has ever began a season 8-0:
First time NFL has had three 8-0 teams in one season. Of 21 previous 8-0 teams: --> All 21 made playoffs --> 12 went to SB --> 8 won SB
— Gil Brandt (@Gil_Brandt) November 9, 2015
It is fair to think at least one of those three teams will be in the Super Bowl this season, especially when it comes to the defending champion Patriots. After all, New England is still the consensus No. 1 team in the latest roundup of NFL Power Rankings, but the Bengals are now firmly in that No. 2 spot thanks to their 31-10 win over the Cleveland Browns this past week.
Cincinnati is now ranked No. 2 in every major power ranking going into Week 10, including ESPN, who offered this on the Bengals:
Tyler Eifert has been making Andy Dalton's life easier. Dalton has completed 74.0 percent of his passes to the tight end this season with nine touchdowns and no interceptions.
NFL.com's Elliot Harrison also bumped up the Bengals to the No. 2 spot in his latest rankings:
Another impressive victory for undefeated Cincinnati, with everyone getting into the act. Tyler Eifert was the headliner with his three touchdown catches, but Mohamed Sanu made plays, Geno Atkins got a sack and, overall, the Bengals showed why they are what their record says they are. One question: Why does Giovani Bernard seem so much more effective than Jeremy Hill? The latter has always been a more patient runner, but Bernard is finding and getting through the creases more quickly. #randomfootballthoughts
ESPN and NFL.com were the only two entities that didn't have Cincinnati ranked in the top two last week. It's safe to say, the Bengals are making believers of even the biggest skeptics. I'm also not sure if there's ever been a point in the history of the internet when every major power ranking had Cincinnati ranked among the two best NFL teams.
That said, the ultimate goal is the finish the season No. 1, regardless of whether they reach the top spot before February. It's going to be tough to dethrone the Patriots for the top spot, but this Bengals team is looking more and more capable of doing it.
As for the Bengals' next opponent, the Houston Texans are considered to be one of the league's worst teams based on where they're ranked in this week's rankings. Houston is ranked 27th by ESPN, 25th by Yahoo and CBS Sports, 24th by SB Nation, and even as low as 29th by USA Today.
They're practically in the same range as the Browns, whom the Bengals just whipped 31-10 at home last week. It is worth noting the Texans had won five straight against the Bengals before last year's 22-13 win by Cincinnati in Houston, so there may not be as much separation between these two franchises as these power rankings suggest.
As for who Cincinnati's biggest test is left on the schedule, the Denver Broncos are still ranked in the top six of every power ranking following their upset loss to the Indianapolis Colts. It makes sense when you realize Denver is the only one-loss team after the three unbeaten clubs. If the Bengals were to slip up at any point this season, you can bet Denver will find their way back ahead of Cincinnati.
Here's a roundup of each major power ranking from this week compared to last week.
SOURCE | CURRENT | LAST WEEK | CHANGE |
ESPN | 2 | 3 | 1 |
Yahoo! Sports | 2 | 2 | 0 |
NFL.com | 2 | 3 | 1 |
SB Nation | 2 | 2 | 0 |
USA Today | 2 | 2 | 0 |
B/R | 2 | 2 | 0 |
CBS Sports (Pete Prisco) | 2 | 2 | 0 |
AVG. | 2. | 2.28 | 0.29 |