Last Word on Pro Football is ranking each team’s easiest and hardest games of the 2017 schedule. Games will be ranked in order of difficulty, with one being the most difficult. This series will be split up into the eight most difficult games (1-8) and the eight easiest games (9-16). In this article, the Cincinnati Bengals easiest games will be discussed.
Cincinnati Bengals Easiest Games in 2017
9. Week 15 at Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings have a defense that is nothing to sneeze at, that’s for sure. Hopefully by week 15, quarterback Teddy Bridgewater will have returned. If not, then this game might be a lot lower on the list. But as it stands right now, Bridgewater and the Vikings will definitely put up a fight.
10. Week 11 at Denver Broncos
Like the Vikings, the Denver Broncos boast one of the top defenses in the league. Led by Von Miller, the Broncos front seven is especially scary. But once again like the Vikings, the Broncos have absolutely no quarterback star power to speak of. Perhaps Paxton Lynch becomes something by next season? Who really knows, at this point.
11. Week 5 vs. Buffalo Bills
In all seriousness, what are the Buffalo Bills doing? For the past two decades, they have been the definition of National Football League mediocrity. Never good enough to clinch a playoff spot, but never bad enough to secure a top pick. Truthfully, this placement on the list does them good. Like the Bills themselves, it’s not too high, but it also isn’t laughably low. Talk about a microcosm.
12. Week 16 vs. Detroit Lions
When the Lions made the playoffs last year, who knew that they would fall off like this? Well, in truth, we should have seen it coming. Last year, the Detroit Lions got incredibly lucky in basically every single possible way. Game-winning drives, fluke plays working out, you name it. The Lions had basically everything go their way. And when they got to the playoffs against the Seattle Seahawks, their luck seriously ran out. Unless Lady Luck wants to meddle in Detroit’s affairs again, they should see a serious fall in the power rankings this year.
13. Week 4 at Cleveland Browns
Now, hold on. The Cleveland Browns are very much still rebuilding. But as training camp goes on and on, it seems that they’ve definitely improved. In contrast to that, the Bengals got much, much worse in the off-season. The Browns even stole away Bengals lineman Kevin Zeitler and reset the offensive guard market with his contract. The Browns might still be rebuilding, but their young and hungry front seven will be able to break through the Bengals decimated line.
14. Week 9 at Jacksonville Jaguars
Remember that period of time before last season, where everyone was high on the Jacksonville Jaguars? What happened? Well, it turns out that Blake Bortles might not be that franchise quarterback they’ve been looking for. Although Jacksonville’s defense is basically Super Bowl caliber, their offense is severely lacking. Unless Bortles can take a huge leap this season, it looks like the Jaguars offense might be starting over. Again.
15. Week 12 vs. Cleveland Browns
Like I said, the Browns are still in rebuilding mode. With such a young team, road games are going to be pretty rough. When the Browns travel to Paul Brown Stadium for week 12, they could be in for quite the unpleasant evening.
16. Week 14 at Chicago Bears
Oh, Chicago Bears. You traded the farm to get Mitch Trubisky, and now everyone is quick to cite you as “the new Browns.” The Bengals should be able to take this one pretty handily, even in week 14 in the meat of the season. Just look at it this way, Chicago: you could be the New York Jets.
Now that we’ve covered the bottom eight, why not take a look at the Bengals most difficult games for this upcoming season?
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