Stat of the Jay: With the Bengals Favored On the Road Again, What Is Record For Most Times For a Non-Playoff Team?

Jay Morrison | Dec 13, 2024

Mar 16, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; The BetMGM Sportsbook at the Mandalay Bay resort and casino. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

CINCINNATI – For the fifth time in eight road games this season, the Cincinnati Bengals are favored.

The Bengals opened as 5.5-point favorites for Sunday’s game at Tennesee, and the line has since dropped to 5.

There is only one other season when the Bengals were favored in more road games. That was in 2002, when they were favored in eight of the nine games they played away from Paycor Stadium.

The lone exception was Week 5 at Baltimore, when they were 3.5-point underdogs.

The 1975 team was favored in six of seven road games on the way to going 11-3 and earning a wildcard berth.

Five teams were favored in five games – 1973, 1976, 2005, 2007 and 2013.

The 1976 and 2007 teams did not make the playoffs. So if the Bengals fail to reach the postseason this year, they will match those teams for most times favored on the road in a season that didn’t produce a playoff berth.

Cincinnati still has one game remaining, and the Bengals could be favored in Week 18 at Pittsburgh if they go into that game on a winning streak, or if the Steelers are in a position to rest their starters.

If the Bengals are favored at Pittsburgh and fail to make the playoffs, it would leave them one shy of the Super Bowl-era record of seven road games as favorites for a non-playoff team.

There are seven teams who did it (with final record):

1978 Raiders (9-7)

1979 Patriots (9-7)

1981 Falcons (7-9)

1991 Giants (8-8)

1995 Raiders (8-8)

2009 Steelers (9-7)

2010 Chargers (9-7)

2017 Cowboys (9-7)

2019 Cowboys (8-8)

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