Bengals Fan Rate Your Hate, Part 8: NFC East

At this point in the offseason even the most patient of football fans will inevitably become restless. What better way to channel that built up angst and depression than by letting it out in the form of hatred for the other 31 NFL teams? That’s where Rate Your Hate comes in. We’re going division by division to find the most hated team in each one, leading up to a final poll to find the most despised NFL team as voted on by Bengals fans. Our last stop brings us to the always interesting NFC East. This division may be the absolute king of smack talk, so while we might not be able to hate these teams as much as they hate each other, we can hope to at least come close!

Philadelphia Eagles

For a city called the “City of Brotherly Love” you might think Philly gets a bad rap for being a bit, shall I say, abrasive. Well, you’d probably be right. Philly will defend their city till their final dying breath, but they’ll likely go on a drunken bar fight spanning the length of the United States first. Fun fact: the Brad Pitt movie World War Z isn’t actually about zombies, it’s what happens in a future timeline where the Eagles have an 0-16 season. Against the Eagles, Cincinnati has found plenty of success. The Bengals lead the all time series 9-3-1 with the lone tie being the infamous game where Donovan McNabb had no idea that NFL games could end in a tie. One side of me thinks it’s horrific that an NFL quarterback doesn’t know the rules. The other side of me is impressed because if that isn’t a winner's mindset then I don’t know what is.

Dallas Cowboys

If you ever have trouble finding out if someone you know is a Cowboys fan, just wait, they’ll be sure to tell you. Jerry Jones has successfully taken a once struggling franchise and turned it into an empire. He’s also made many Cowboys fans enter into what I can only assume is the fanhood version of a cult. The Cowboys had a fair share of success back in their heyday, but they would make it seem like they’re the greatest franchise to ever grace a football field. I can think of a fair number of teams who have had just as much, if not more success than the ‘Boys; ya know, the team that likes to call itself “America’s Team”. That said, they’ve shown their success against the Bengals. The Cowboys lead the Bengals all time 8-4, including the convincing 28-14 defeat they handed Cincinnati just last season.

New York Giants

The Giants are an interesting team. Once know for their no-nonsense attitudes behind coaches like Bill Parcells and Tom Coughlin, the team has seen a new change in direction with superstar wideout Odell Beckham Jr. leading the force. OBJ’s star power was made for a city like New York, and his personality either catches you positively or negatively with not much room in between. He’s given new life to an Eli Manning who’s now starting to enter the later stages of his career, and has Giant fans hopeful for the future. The G-Men have two Super Bowls with Manning under center, and this new version of the team could very well give them a third. The Bengals lead the Giants in their head to head series 6-4 all time, but it was the Giants who came away victorious in 2016’s Monday Night Football clash.

Washington Redskins

The Redskins have played some pretty good football under former Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden since he left Cincinnati for Washington three years ago. Quarterback Kirk Cousins is the perfect fit for the offense Gruden likes to run and the success with it has been put on display. Of course, pretty good football for the Redskins is a fairly low bar to set, as the franchise has been hampered by the willingness of owner Dan Snyder to splurge on huge free agent signings. I think the Albert Haynesworth debacle alone set them back three years. That said, while the Redskins barely finished over .500 this year, fans and probably ownership will be expecting more going forward. Against Washington, the Bengals hold a slim head-to-head lead of 5-4-1, with the lone tie coming in London last season.

So, which NFC East team do you hate the most?

Rate Your Hate Series:

Part 1: AFC East

Part 2: AFC South

Part 3: AFC North

Part 4: AFC West

Part 5: NFC North

Part 6: NFC South

Part 7: NFC West