Cincinnati Bengals Official Prediction for 2025 NFL Season

Cincinnati Bengals On SI

Transcript

00:00Let's dive in game by game. Here we go. The Bengals, they play the Browns on Sunday,

00:06September 7th. They kick off the season and I've said it for weeks. It's not going to be a shocker

00:12to you that I'm saying this. If you watch or you listen regularly, you better win this game.

00:17You better win this game. You have to win this game and expectations are simple. Win the game.

00:24This Bengals team, they've talked about starting fast since when? I'm trying to think

00:29of the exact date in January that Luana Rumo got fired. Zach Taylor sat in his office. He was on

00:35a Zoom call with media because the storms were crazy. I drove down in the Cincinnati Bengals

00:40talk mobile and we talked about that. Went through eight inches of snow or whatever it was. We get

00:45there and Zach Taylor says, we better start faster this season. Well, this season is now and it starts

00:52in Cleveland. I have the Bengals winning that game. I have the Bengals handling business week two as

00:57well against the Jacksonville Jaguars. And yes, I actually think Jacksonville is kind of sneaky good

01:02and maybe not. Maybe it doesn't work out. Maybe Trevor Lawrence really is just super talented and

01:08isn't going to be a good player. I disagree with that. I think it's going to work. We'll see.

01:12So that is a win as well. And this is where it starts to change because I had them starting two and

01:18oh, and then going two and one in May when we played the schedule game after the schedule came out.

01:22Now, I actually have them starting three and oh this year. And this would be obviously a major,

01:29major first, the first time of the Zach Taylor era. I can think of the excitement around my

01:34favorite Bengals team of all time, the 2005 Bengals when they started three and oh and how exciting it

01:39was. And I have this Bengals team doing the same thing. They start three and oh, they go to Minnesota,

01:43they win. And you're looking up and you're like, man, how good can this team be? Well, then they're

01:48going to go to Denver the following week and lose. And then I have them losing again the following

01:54week at home to the Detroit Lions. So now suddenly they're three and two. And back in May, I had those

02:00games flipped. I had them losing to Minnesota and beating Denver and losing to Detroit. I have them

02:05starting three and two again, just in a different order. But this is when they really get hot because

02:10you start three and one in September and then oh and one in October. And then you finish really,

02:15really strong ahead of the week 10 by I have them going to Green Bay and handling business.

02:19Yes, with Micah Parsons. Yes, Jordan Love. Yes, with all those things that really good team in

02:25Green Bay and it's going to be tough to go to Lambeau and win. I think they get it done. I think

02:29Joe Burrow shines bright at Lambeau. They come home short week for Pittsburgh and handle business there.

02:37And then they have the Jets and Bears. Those are going to be interesting games. I think they win those

02:42games. And suddenly you look up in the Bengals. They go from three and two. They win four straight.

02:46They're seven and two going into the bye. Who wouldn't take that? I think you would take it.

02:51I think they would take it. All right, Bengals fans, let's continue the conversation after the bye.

02:56Well, they play the Steelers week 11. A month after beating them, they lose to Pittsburgh. I think

03:02Pittsburgh's pretty solid. That defense is really good. Their defensive line's really deep.

03:06And so they split with the Steelers, but then they bounce back in a big way by handling business

03:11against the Patriots. And then this is arguably the Thanksgiving game. This is arguably the game

03:15maybe of the year. It could certainly decide the division in my mind. You go to Baltimore,

03:21short week. The Bengals have had to do that multiple years in a row, prime time under the

03:25lights in Baltimore. They're going to get it done this year. They're going to go to Baltimore and win.

03:29I haven't wavered in that. I think that happens this year. And they're going to get really up for that

03:33game, handle business. And then they're going to have to get up again for Buffalo. Buffalo is going

03:37to be up for that, that game. And I think the bills handle business in week 14 against the Bengals.

03:42So coming out of the bye, after starting seven and two, the Bengals go two and two over the next

03:47four games and they're nine and four going into a final stretch that includes the Ravens, Dolphins,

03:52Cardinals, and Browns. Well, this is probably my hottest take when it comes to the Bengals

03:57prediction or my prediction for the Bengals this season. I have them sweeping the Ravens.

04:02Not only do they go there on Thanksgiving and handle business, but then they come back home

04:05and after going two and two after the bye, they handle business again. They beat the Ravens two

04:11times in three weeks. And then they go down to Miami and handle business again. And they beat the

04:17Dolphins to really set themselves up at 11 and four for potentially one seed contention. I mean,

04:24if you're 11 and four going into games against the Cardinals and Browns, you feel pretty good.

04:28I have them splitting those games, losing to the Cardinals, beating the Browns. There's always a

04:33loss that surprises you. I think it's going to be that Cardinals game and then sweeping the Browns.

04:39So they sweep the Browns, they sweep the Ravens, and they split with the Steelers five and one in

04:43the division. I have them winning the AFC North. All bets are off after that, but at 12 and five,

04:49this Bengals team is going to be right in the thick of things. And they dethrone the Ravens in the

04:54North. That is my prediction for this season.

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