NFL 2015: 3 Reasons why the Cincinnati Bengals won’t make the Playoffs.
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Cincinnati, Ohio, a city where optimism is always high in any sport. I guess you could say they are a glass half full type of city. The fans are itching for a championship, something that hasn’t happened since the Cincinnati Reds won the World Series in 1990. The Bengals have made it to the Super Bowl twice since the AFL/NFL merger, but just couldn’t close the deal against the San Francisco 49ers both times.

The past few years, that key word used earlier, optimism, has been at an all-time high. The Bengals have made the playoffs four straight years. The downfall is that they have not made it out of the first round in those years. One and done as many call it. Can the Andy Dalton led Bengals make it five straight playoff appearances? I’m here to tell you not to hold your breath.

1.Offense

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The Bengals offense has plenty of talent and potential, but they seem to fall short every year. A lot of it has to do with the play of QB, Andy Dalton. Since being drafted by Cincinnati four years ago, Dalton has started every single game. His touchdown totals climbed in each of his first three seasons, but so did his interception totals. In 2014, Dalton regressed. His 2013 totals were a little above average with 4,293 yards, 33 TD’s, and 20 INTs. 2014 were atrocious. The TCU alum threw for a tad under 3,400 yards to go along with just 19 TDs and 17 INTs. Many people say the numbers fell off due to star WR, AJ Green, missing three games.

The fact of the matter is Andy Dalton has already seemed to hit his peak. The Bengals offense has plenty of weapons in AJ Green, Muhammed Sanu, and Tyler Eifert. Let’s not forget about the double headed monster in the backfield featuring Giovani Bernard and rookie sensation Jeremy Hill. The pieces are there for Dalton, but he can’t capitalize on the opportunity. Making the playoffs year after year is a good thing, but not making it out of the first round counteracts that production. This is a make or break year for Dalton, even though he signed a six year extension last summer.

2. Schedule

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With three trips to the west coast this year, the schedule presents many challenges for this young Bengals team. Add in that Cincinnati has to play the NFC and AFC West and you can see how difficult things can get. Of the 16 games the Bengals play this year, seven of them are against playoff teams from last year, and four of those games are on the road. Last year the Ohio residents went 3-4-1 against playoff teams. When they won, it was by an average of a little over six points. When they lost, it was by an average of 21 points. To make things even tougher, Cincinnati resides in the black and blue division, the AFC North. The Steelers and Ravens made the playoffs last year, and Cleveland did nothing but improve this offseason.

The icing on the cake for their schedule is weeks 2-8, or as I like to call it, the gauntlet. The Bengals play San Diego, @Baltimore, Kansas City, Seattle, @Buffalo, and @Pittsburgh with a bye week sprinkled in there. All of those teams either made the playoffs, or had a winning record in 2014. Cincinnati has to start the season off strong because they finish 2015 out with Pittsburgh, @Denver, @San Francisco, and Baltimore. The coaching staff will have to keep this team upbeat if they want to succeed this year. That brings me to my next point.

3. Marvin Lewis

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It seems like every year, we hear the phrase “Marvin Lewis is on the hot seat.” As I said earlier, making the playoffs four straight years is good, but if you can’t make it out of the first round, it means nothing. In fact, since becoming the Head Coach for the Bengals, Lewis has led his team to the playoffs 6 times, and has zero playoff wins. You get a sense that the players and certainly the organization are losing faith in him. While their record for the last four years has either improved or plateaued, Lewis has to make things happen other than in the regular season. No team gets a trophy in the first 17 weeks of the NFL season.

The Bengals have an uphill battle this year, that’s very different to hear about a defending division champion, but it’s a fact. This team has many road blocks in front of them and it’s hard to picture them succeeding. The division is tougher and many teams on their schedule have improved a lot. This season rides on the arm of Andy Dalton, and we all know how that can turn out.

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