Best-case scenario prediction for the Bengals’ 2022 season

Could it finally be Cincinnati’s time?

By John Acree Sep 3, 2022, 6:00am EDT

Super Bowl LVI - Los Angeles Rams v Cincinnati Bengals

May 23, 1967. On that date, a group founded by former Cleveland Browns head coach Paul Brown was granted a franchise by the American Football League. The Cincinnati Bengals began play in 1968.

For 54 years, I have been a faithful follower of the Bengals. I have stayed with them through the good times and the bad.

In that inaugural season, I watched Paul Robinson rush for 1,023 yards and be named the AFL Rookie of the Year. Two years later, the AFL merged with the NFL and divided into two conferences, the AFC and the NFC. That year, Cincinnati won the first AFC Central Division title with a record of 8-6. Needless to say, optimism was through the roof.

The Bengals won the division title again in 1973 with a record of 10-4, and finished the 1975 season at 11-3. Unfortunately, the Pittsburgh Steelers won the division with a record of 12-2 record and went on to win the Super Bowl.

Cincinnati went to the Super Bowl after the 1981 and 1988 seasons, and held the lead in the final minutes of both games before eventually falling to the San Francisco 49ers.

Then came the lost decade of the 90s where the Bengals put together a record of 55-137 and became the laughingstock of the NFL. It was during this period that Cincinnati earned the moniker “the Bungles.”

Marvin Lewis managed to turn things around a little after he took over in 2003 and the Bengals won four division titles over the next 13 years. Even so, by the time Lewis left in 2018, Cincinnati had gone 28 years without winning a playoff game.

All of that changed, of course, with the Bengals’ storybook run to Super Bowl LVI this past season, and not even the 23-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams could dampen the enthusiasm we all feel going into the 2022-2023 season.

In the offseason, Cincinnati addressed its most glaring weakness from last year when it completely rebuilt its offensive line. Free-agent acquisitions at right tackle, right guard and center, along with a hulking rookie at left guard should help keep quarterback Joe Burrow upright and allow an ultra-talented offense to become one of the highest-scoring attacks in football.

Cincinnati also built up its defense with the addition of first-round defensive back Daxton Hill and second-round cornerback Cameron Taylor-Britt, and the return to health of a couple of elite performers along the defensive line. And, as we all know, a better defense leads to an even better offense.

With all of that said, look for the Cincinnati Bengals to repeat as AFC North champions, and keep reading to see just how far they will go as I endeavor to predict the best-case scenario of every game, right up through the NFL playoffs.