The 2024 Cincinnati Bengals are an oddity in many ways.
Joe Burrow is arguably the best quarterback in the NFL this season and has absolutely no chance of winning NFL MVP. Cincinnati is one of the most talented teams in the league, but will need a miracle to make the playoffs at 6-8. The Bengals are two games under .500, but should definitely consider doing whatever it takes to keep their core together for another run.
For that to happen, Bengals ownership doesn’t have to be cheap. That may be too much to ask.
Sunday’s 37-27 win over the Tennessee Titans once again showed that while the Bengals are flawed this season, they have the ingredients to be a Super Bowl contender in the future. Ja’Marr Chase is having a phenomenal season. Tee Higgins would be the clear No. 1 receiver on most other teams, and he made a ridiculous touchdown catch on Sunday. Having these two isn’t the reason Burrow is having a special season, but it is certainly a factor in his favor. He had 271 yards and three touchdowns against the Titans.
This season may be mostly an afterthought — once again a miracle could strike the Bengals in the postseason — but the Bengals should see a blueprint in front of them. It’s just going to cost a lot of money.
It doesn’t make sense why the Bengals didn’t pay Chase before the season. It was clear that he is among the elite receivers in the NFL and a long-term contract similar to CeeDee Lamb or Justin Jefferson should have been easy. Chase is under contract through 2025, but it’s hard to imagine him not sticking around if he doesn’t get the deal he deserves. That contract should have been easy, but it should have been easy for months.
Higgins is more complicated. He is on the franchise tag this season and will break the bank in free agency. That should tell the Bengals something. Keeping that core of the passing game together will get Cincinnati back to the Super Bowl. Without one or the other, the Bengals are still good, but with a lower ceiling. Perhaps the fact that Burrow, Chase and Higgins are together makes them special. Burrow made it clear that he would not be happy if Higgins left free.
“I’d be very disappointed in that,” Burrow said recently. “T-shirts are a necessity.”
The first obstacle is the salary cap. But the Philadelphia Eagles have shown it’s possible to afford a franchise quarterback and two alpha receivers (and even add an elite running back in free agency). It’s a challenge, but smart teams will figure out a way if they want to.
The second obstacle, and perhaps the biggest, is ownership. The Bengals started to shake the reputation for cheapness, but it’s back after botching the Chase negotiations. They couldn’t get it done and now it’s costing team owner Mike Brown a few more million in the wake of a career year for Chase. That’s Cincinnati’s fault. The Bengals shouldn’t create another one by letting Higgins walk.
They have a lot of holes to repair on the defensive end and it won’t be easy. But with some good depth it may be possible to solve it. Or at least improved enough to get the Bengals back into the fold of Super Bowl contenders.
This season has been a huge disappointment for Cincinnati. But the Bengals are the rare team that probably won’t make the playoffs but feels like with a decent offseason they could be Super Bowl contenders in the 2025 season. It’s up to the owner to get out the checkbook .
Here are the rest of the winners and losers from Week 15 of the NFL season:
WINNERS
Lamar Jackson’s MVP Odds: While Josh Allen took a big lead in the MVP race after last week’s game, Jackson reminded everyone on Sunday not to forget about him.
Jackson had five touchdown passes and the Baltimore Ravens earned an easy 35-14 win over the depleted New York Giants. Jackson had 290 yards passing and another 65 rushing. Rashod Bateman had two of those touchdowns as he ultimately continues to emerge as a dangerous weapon in a deep offense.
Jackson has had an MVP-worthy season. He may not win because Allen has been so good and there will be a feeling that it is his turn. Allen has no MVP award, while Jackson has two. One way Jackson can win it is by playing some monster games. He is capable of that, as we saw on Sunday.
Chiefs, finally winning comfortably: For once, the Kansas City Chiefs didn’t need a miraculous play at the end of the game to win.
For the first time since October 20, the Chiefs won by more than seven points. They got a pair of touchdowns from Patrick Mahomes, Jameis Winston threw them three interceptions before he was benched in the fourth quarter and the end result was never in question. The Chiefs took an early 21-0 lead and although they didn’t play great in the second half, they cruised to a 21-7 victory. Mahomes got some hits late and the Chiefs were able to sit him and let Carson Wentz finish the game. Mahomes limped late in the game, but his injuries did not appear serious.
With three games remaining, the Chiefs are close to clinching the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs. There probably won’t be any easy games in the playoffs, but at least the Chiefs know they can win a game without it coming down to the final seconds.
Davante Adams: Adams had no catches in the first half against the Jaguars. Those who had him in their fantasy football lineups for a playoff game had to be upset.
In the end, those fantasy managers were pretty happy. Adams had a nuclear second half, with nine catches and 198 yards after halftime, and his 41-yard catch set up Breece Hall’s 1-yard touchdown with 1:05 to go. The Jets then rallied on a Sauce Gardner interception and held on for a thrilling 32-25 victory.
The trade for Adams won’t age well as the Jets won’t make the playoffs. But on Sunday he was unstoppable in the second half.
LOSERS
Mike McCarthy haters: Is it possible that McCarthy is coaching himself to be back with the Dallas Cowboys in 2025?
The Cowboys won their third game in four tries on Sunday, winning 30-14 against a Carolina Panthers team that has been playing well of late. Cooper Rush had a strong game with three touchdowns, and that should reflect well on McCarthy as well. While the lone loss of the last four was a debacle where the Cowboys hit a blocked punt and the Bengals were able to keep possession and beat them, it’s been a pretty good stretch for Dallas lately.
Many Cowboys fans want McCarthy out. That seemed like a done deal when Dallas fell to 3-7 with Dak Prescott out for the season with a hamstring injury. But McCarthy has since united the Cowboys. How much will that impress Jerry Jones?
Tua Tagovailoa: Tagovailoa has been on a roll lately, but he needed to be just about perfect for the rest of the season for the Miami Dolphins to find a path to the playoffs.
Tagovailoa wasn’t perfect on Sunday. He threw three interceptions, including one to Texans cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. in the fourth quarter with the Dolphins trailing 20-12 and in Houston Texans territory. The Dolphins had one more shot late in the game while trailing by eight points, but Stingley Jr. wrestled away a pass to Tyreek Hill for another pick and the game was over.
Tagovailoa hadn’t thrown an interception since Nov. 11. He lost Jaylen Waddle early to injury on Sunday, then receiver Grant DuBose suffered a terrible-looking injury after a blow to the head. Tagovailoa didn’t have much help on Sunday. But the Dolphins couldn’t afford to lose, and Tagovailoa couldn’t carry the Dolphins to victory.
Washington Commanders, even in victory: The Washington Commanders won on Sunday, but it was a lot harder than it needed to be.
Facing a completely depleted New Orleans Saints team that benched starting quarterback Jake Haener, the Commanders nearly blew a 17-0 lead. The Saints scored a touchdown with no time left in regulation and went for the 2-point conversion and the 20-19 win, but Spencer Rattler’s pass was incomplete and the Commanders escaped. Rattler came off the bench and nearly beat the Commanders, which isn’t a good sign for Washington.
The Commanders improved to 9-5 and are inching closer to an unexpected playoff spot, but they look like a shell of the team that started the season 7-2. Winning Sunday was better than blowing a game to the Saints in the final seconds, but it shouldn’t inspire much confidence.