There is no such thing as a 'meaningless' win in the NFL

[*ochocincos*]

(12-28-2020, 11:11 AM)PhilHos Wrote: Every win in the NFL has meaning.

A win determines a team's record.
A win determines if a team makes the playoffs or not.
A win determines a team's draft position.
A win can determine if a team retains it's coaching staff and certain players.

There are more, but just because the win may have a supposed negative effect on the team doesn't make it meaningless.

While it may not be "meaningless," it doesn't seem to really do what some hope it to do, which is to propel the team going into next season.
Since the Bengals lost their playoff game against the Steelers, they have gone into the final week of the season every year with a losing record. Yet in every final game of the season, they have won that last game. Unfortunately, they continue to still have a losing record year after year, showing that winning late in the season the year before really wasn't a precursor to having a great season the following year.

But you're right, winning late like the Bengals have does affect draft position, could affect the opposing team's playoff chances, and could determine the fate of the coaching staff. Hopefully, Mike Brown doesn't put too much into these late-season wins when the team was already eliminated from playoffs, but he probably does.