Keyshawn Johnson: "Bengals are not at the top of the class in the AFC"

[fredtoast]

it is not the market size.  Buffalo and KC are both smaller markets.  And when the 9-7 Giants got hot and beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl I don't remember them getting a lot of love at the start of the next season.

And that is the way a lot of fans see the Bengals 2021 season.  They got hot and won a lot of games in the final seconds. Sure we beat the Chiefs twice, but in both games our defense blew a 4th quarter lead and we had to come back to win on the last play of the game.  Bengals fans see those wins as proof that we are a better team than the Chiefs, but most NFL fans see those as games that could have easily gone the other way.  Same with the win over the Titans where our defense blew a lead in the third quarter and we had to come back and win on the last play of the game.

Through 14 games we were 7-6 and struggling to stay in the playoff race.  15 other NFL teams had at least 7 wins.  Our Offense was 14th in yards gained and our defense was 17th in yards allowed.

Personally I think we have the talent to have one of the best offenses in the league and a top 10 defense.  But I can see why other NFL fans and analysts  want to see more consistent success from the Bengals before considering them to be serious Championship contenders.