Cincinnati Bengals: 0-3 is Major Cause for Concern, But There is a Beacon of Hope

After giving up an all-time rookie performance to Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels in his third-ever NFL game, the Cincinnati Bengals and head coach Zac Taylor might need to hit the panic button.

Bengals fans, along with fellow fans of 0-3 teams like the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Tennessee Titans, have become all too familiar with the statistics about how rare it is for a team that starts 0-3 to make the playoffs. While all the teams in this category should be concerned, their chances are being gravely misrepresented.

It is rare for teams to make the playoffs after starting 0-3

The famous stat being tossed around on social media that has everyone putting the nail in the coffin of the Bengals’ season is that only six of the 255 teams in the Super Bowl era to start 0-3 have made the playoffs.

Only four teams that have started 0-3 since 1990 have managed to make the playoffs in that same year. No team that has started 0-3 has ever made its way to the Super Bowl in that season.

The last team to make it to the playoffs after starting 0-3 was the Houston Texans led by quarterback Deshaun Watson in 2018. Watson and the Texans went on a nine-game win streak after losing their first three before dropping two out of their last four games.

FWIW: During the Super-Bowl era, 255 teams have started 0-3; six of them have gone on to make the playoffs. The last 0-3 team to make the playoffs was the 2018 Houston Texans, who were quarterbacked by Deshaun Watson. pic.twitter.com/GM5pclYr0G

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 24, 2024

The Cincinnati Bengals are in a different circumstance than most 0-3 teams in history

The two main differences between the rest of NFL history and the challenge the Bengals have in front of them are the length of the season and the number of teams in the playoffs. A 17-game season has only been the norm since 2021, meaning the vast majority of stats about teams who started 0-3 are defining entirely different circumstances.

Even more crucial to the plight of the Bengals is the seventh playoff team, something that the NFL has only had since 2020. Just last year the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings started 0-3. They both finished at 7-10, two games behind the 9-8 Green Bay Packers that made it to the playoffs in the wildcard spot.

The 2023 Bears were in a rebuilding year with a QB that everyone in the NFL knew they were moving on from after the season and the 2023 Vikings had to scratch and claw their way to a seven-win season after losing their best player, WR Justin Jefferson, for a large portion of the season along with starting QB Kirk Cousins.

The Vikings had four different quarterbacks, yet they were right on the cusp of making the playoffs after starting 0-3. The Bengals will certainly have to improve on the defensive side of the ball as the 2018 Texans and the 2023 Vikings never allowed as many points as Cincinnati did against the Commanders on Monday night.

Bengals QB Joe Burrow understands that the Bengals still have a chance this season, as he described in an article from NFL.com

“It was a very positive conversation,” Burrow said. “We’re not happy with where we’re at, but by no means is the season over. There will be some critical thinking that I will have to do, to see what kind of leader I want to be going forward, whatever I feel the team needs from me.”

More NFL and College Football Articles from Andrew Kusleika on Gridiron Heroics:

• How Minnesota Vikings DT Harrison Phillips Knew QB Sam Darnold Would Have Success
• A Cincinnati Bengals DPOY Contender Has Shockingly Emerged After a Loss to the Kansas City Chiefs
• Cincinnati Bengals CB Cam Taylor-Britt Backed Up Talk Yet Still Failed to Beat Kansas City Chiefs
• Chicago Bears CB Jaylon Johnson Gave Valuable Secrets Away to Opposing Teams

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