This Feels Like a "Must-Win" Game

[*Nately120*]

(09-25-2016, 11:59 AM)bengalguy71 Wrote: Not if you want a SB win.

I guess it comes down to what we want versus what we deem success in these parts.  I hear a lot of folks say that we should be respected because we've made the playoffs 5 years in a row, so why quibble about the fact that we went in as the 6th, 6th, 3rd, 5th, and 3rd seed rather than 1st, 1st, 1st, 1st and 1st?

I guess I don't understand this narrative that we could have made it to or won the SB by beating Denver or NE for the AFC Championship if only we didn't have to deal with those pesky Texans, Texans, Chargers, Colts, and Steelers in the WC round.

Only 1 team that we lost to in the opening round managed to win their next game (Colts in 2014), so while I realize anything can happen, I just don't see how confident I can be that a team that can't make it out of the opening round would fare much better if they had a bye to circumnavigate a 9-7 team and go directly to a 12-4 or better one.  That's all. We've lost at home, we've lost on the road, we've lost with our starter, we've lost with our backup, we've lost against their starting QBs, we've lost against their backup QB, so on and so forth. I'm not saying it DOESN'T matter, but I can't in good conscience wave my hand and say "We woulda won IF xyz happened" because damn near everything HAS happened.

Or maybe getting the 1st seed is all we need to break the drought. Who knows. Prove me wrong, Bengals!