Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

A Look at How the Cincinnati Bengals Can Still Make the Playoffs by Winning the AFC North despite Their 8 Losses on the Season

It's a longshot, but don't count the Bengals out just yet!

Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

The AFC North has had the potential to be quite a tough division over the last few seasons. Unfortunately, though, the Cincinnati Bengals have not been able to live up to their expectations, mainly due to injury problems with quarterback Joe Burrow and their abysmal defense.

Once again this season, the Bengals find themselves on the verge of elimination from the postseason with a 3-8 record through 12 weeks of football. Now, normally, the odds of progressing to the playoffs for any team with this record will be extremely low, and that holds true for the Bengals as well.

Having said that, there may still be a path that takes Cincinnati to the top of the division before the regular season is over.

Bengals coach Zac Taylor says he expects QB Joe Burrow (toe) to play Thursday vs Ravens. pic.twitter.com/8GenTR8lJt
— NFL (@NFL) November 24, 2025

How the Cincinnati Bengals Can Still Win the AFC North

Heading into Week 13 of the NFL season, the Bengals have won just 3 games and lost 8. Normally, the chances of winning a division from this stage are next to impossible. However, Cincinnati has two key elements in its favor: the gap between them and the division leaders, as well as the remaining schedule of the teams.

“Sitting here today, the division leader is three games up in the win column,” said NFL analyst Chris Canty on ESPN’s ‘First Take’. “The Bengals play the Ravens not once, but twice, starting on Turkey Day this week. So, I absolutely think it’s plausible for Cincinnati to be able to get this done. When you look at Baltimore’s remaining schedule, for them to be able to go 500 would be a blessing. Every team they play, not named Cincinnati, is over 500. When you look at the Pittsburgh Steelers, they’re on quarterback number two with Mason Rudolph. And I’m not conceding the division to them.”

Circling back to the earlier point that the Bengals are just 3 games adrift of the Ravens at the top of the division, that gives Cincinnati a major advantage. Since the Ravens started 1-5 this season, they have been playing catch-up, and with 5 wins in a row, have positioned themselves as the favorites to win the division.

However, the Bengals face the Ravens twice, which means if Cincinnati can win both games, the gap between the two will be reduced drastically.

"The Cincinnati Bengals absolutely have an opportunity to get into the playoffs by winning the AFC North."@ChrisCanty99 weighs in on the Bengals and their remaining schedule 👀 pic.twitter.com/5LU3OV9at1
— First Take (@FirstTake) November 25, 2025

AFC North Remaining Schedules

If we take a look at the upcoming schedules for the Ravens, Steelers, and Bengals, then Cincinnati is in with a chance to top the AFC North at the end of the regular season. Starting with the Bengals, they have 2 games against the Ravens, as mentioned earlier, as well as a potentially tough matchup with the Bills. Then, they have three relatively easier games against the Dolphins, Cardinals, and the Browns.

As for the Ravens, they have 4 divisional games still to play, 2 against the Bengals and 2 against the Steelers. They also play the Patriots and the Packers, which means they have a tough final stretch of the season coming up.

And that leaves us with the Steelers, who are currently without starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Pittsburgh has had an uneven season thus far and lacks consistency. The Steelers’ schedule also has 4 tough games, 2 against the Ravens, one against the Bills, and another against the Lions. Their remaining two games are against the Dolphins and the Browns, and there is no guarantee that Pittsburgh can go on a winning run.

As a result of the above key points, the Bengals have a chance at winning the division; however, small that may be. But with Joe Burrow expected to be back under center, that is a massive boost. Now the only question is, can the Bengals’ defense turn things around in the final third of the regular season?

Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

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Devavrat Kulkarni

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I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!