The Bengals Had A Winning Record In Multiple Ways

The Cincinnati Bengals suffered a heartbreaking defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday in the AFC Championship Game, but overall, they were very consistent and successful this season.

In fact, according to BetMGM, they had the best record against the spread in the entire NFL this season.

Even with losses in Conference Championship games, @Bengals finished 13-6 ATS and @49ers 13-7 ATS.

Only Giants (14-5 ATS) and Lions (12-5 ATS) were better covering this season.

Good teams win. Great teams cover. ✅

— John Ewing 🦁 (@johnewing) January 31, 2023

Cincinnati lost in last season’s Super Bowl to the Los Angeles Rams on a late touchdown by Cooper Kupp, and it looked like this season was going to result in a return trip to the big game.

They lost three of the first five games and were still hovering around .500 at midseason, but took off afterward by going on a long winning streak and finishing 12-4 overall.

It earned quarterback Joe Burrow lots of praise for his cool, steady hand, as some even felt he was becoming the next Joe Montana or Tom Brady.

But the Bengals fell in a tightly contested conference title game, and it was sweet revenge for Patrick Mahomes and company.

Last year, Mahomes threw an interception in overtime of the AFC Championship Game, leading to the game-winning field goal by Cincinnati’s Evan McPherson.

But this time, Mahomes made the big plays when needed, despite playing on a sprained ankle that somewhat limited his mobility.

In a swing of both teams’ fortunes, it was the Chiefs’ Harrison Butker who laced in the game-winning field goal with three seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

The Bengals head into the offseason needing to figure out what they need to do to get over the hump and finally win their first world championship.