we beat the Chefs, but what .........

[Scottishbengal]

....next? I don't want to piss on the fireworks, lets' enjoy the win, heck it was a GREAT win, a FANTASTIC performance, an absolutley BRILLIANT evening! Defence played great, Offense played great, Special Teams played great, - hey, the fans in the stadium SOUNDED great (on British TV). The question is, what would record would YOU be happy with to end the season? We beat the (previously unbeaten) Kansas City Chefs, but do you think "hey if we can beat them we can beat anybody, we'll win the Superbowl" - or "that was a great result, now finishing 7-9 is a real possibility" . I don't want to take ANYTHING away from such a great performance tonight, I am just trying to provoke some debate into how fans now see the season panning out from here on in. Hey, we are top (of the weakest division ?) with a chance to make the play-offs (with possibly an 8-8 record) . If we finish 8-8 and miss the play-offs to a 9-7 team will YOU be happy with how this season has gone, or is the play-offs the minimum you will accept from this Bengals team ? All the best to those stripey boys for the rest of the season - WHO DEY THINK GONNA BEAT DEM BENGALS? (Not the Chiefs tonight!).

[HoosierCat]

Where from here? Oh, that's easy: San Diego. Where we keep getting our stripey butts kicked. One game at a time, Scotty, one game at a time.

But yeah, hey showed something today. They showed once and for all that they are real.

Now here's the bad news about that: no more jokes, no more overlooking them, no more of any of that crap. They're an NFL team in 1st place (!!!) in their division, and they have 3 road games, and everyone -- EVERYONE -- will be looking to knock them off. You thought today was a big game?

There are NO MORE small games. The Bengals control their own destiny today. They win, they're in. They win all the rest of their games and they are the Super Bowl champs.

And they thought GJ's guarantee was a big thing...

GO BENGALS!!!!

[kevnz]

Well, I've said before that I think the playoffs are a reall shot. I can see the Bengals going 10-6, or 9-7 and winning the AFC north, so they would host a playoff game at PBS where they would be hard to beat in January in the cold. I don't see them going past the conference semi's though, simply because they would have to go on the road and play either New England/Tenn/Indy (I ain't putting money on who is the #2 seed in the AFC) or KC at their home and that is probably a bit much to ask this year. But I really see that the AFC North is there for the Bengals to take, but I don't see the Bengals winning a wild card because there are some awfully good teams with better records than the Bengals have. But the Bengals have shown improvement nearly every week and I don't see that stopping yet so really, anything can happen.

Cheers

[richmond_mat]

PLAYOFFS THIS YEAR or BUST.

The ravens can't score enough to win against a decent offense, so there's one win.

The steelers are struggling and coach lewis will not lose to a mentor twice in one season.

The browns are a wayward ship.

Flutie is too old for this defense.

SanFransisco is a jekyl and hyde.

Who ever their other opponent is might win.

Sum it up and a 5-1 finish is possible.

Who Dey! not dem cherkifs.

[kevnz]

They're an NFL team in 1st place (!!!) in their division, and they have 3 road games, and everyone -- EVERYONE -- will be looking to knock them off.

Yep, that 3 game away trip really sucks! But, to be champions they have to win on the road, and to win the AFC North, they are gonna have to win on the road. Playing great at PBS is all well and good, but they need to show that they can win away from there now.

cheers

[The Brew Man]

Im nervous about the road trip, this team plays really well at home. However, if we can return to PBS in 3 weeks with a 7-6 mark, I will be giddy.

[WHO DEY AGAIN?]

Anything can happen but at least this year ALL games can be a win. It has been a long time since that has been spoken. It's nice to see them getting props. I just hope they have the big picture in mind and don't get caught up in the moment. WHO DEY

[HoosierCat]

Well, as someone who predicted 7-9 before the season, I am tickled pink (as the phrase goes) at their 5-5 record. As for the next 6 games, Pitt and Balt after SD, and Cleveland at the end of the year are clearly the keys. SD next week would be a nice bit of revenge, and I think there are enough guys on the team who feel the same way. Let's ground the Bolts!!!!!

[kevnz]

I just hope they have the big picture in mind and don't get caught up in the moment.

Well, that's the good thing about that Cardinal loss. They were feeling pretty good about themselves and lost to a team they should have beat. So hopefully Coach Lewis can keep the team motivated and focused on the upcoming stretch. The Bengals really have to go 3-0 on this road trip. A loss to the Steelers, or Ravens could really put a dent in the playoff push cause they are division games, gotta have the tie breakers.