CBS Sports Names Bengals 'Fringe Contender' in AFC Playoff Race

Cincinnati has made the AFC Championship game in two of the past three seasons.

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins (85) hands his mother, Lady Stewart, a football after scoring a touchdown in the third quarter during the AFC championship NFL game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Kansas City Chiefs, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023, at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. The Kansas City Chiefs won, 23-20. Cincinnati Bengals At Kansas City Chiefs Afc Championship Jan 29 0386 / Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

CINCINNATI — The Bengals have a decent shot at capturing their first Super Bowl this season, still, CBS Sports views them as a fringe contender in the AFC.

Garrett Podell put Cincinnati behind the Chiefs, Bills, Texans, and Ravens.

"The Cincinnati Bengals are either true contenders in the AFC or they miss the postseason entirely in the Joe Burrow era," Podell wrote. "They missed postseason play when Burrow suffered a season-ending knee injury in 2020 and a season-ending wrist injury in 2023. When he has been healthy, Cincy has either represented the AFC in the Super Bowl (2021) or narrowly lost the AFC Championship game against the Chiefs (2022). The reason the Bengals aren't in the true contender tier is because Burrow's health has become a recurring problem. If it were easy to trust his durability, the Bengals would be one tier higher than this one."

Burrow has stayed in top-tier health so far this training camp as he gets ready to play behind the best offensive line of his career.

He can quell all doubts about his durability starting on Sept. 8.

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