State of the Nation

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By Arjun Achreja

The Cinncinnati Bengals have been playing lights out in the league. They stand at the No.1 spot in the AFC North and will be facing the Pittsburgh Steelers this Sunday. Yet, there are many people who are starting to step on the Bengals bandwagon. But they should be aware of something:

The second half of the Bengals season gets worse.

After the Steelers, the Bengals then face the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, Steelers and Houston Texans. After two easier games against the St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals, they finish the season against the Ravens.

It’s safe to say the Bengals can win at least 3. But for the other 5 games can be potential losses. You can forget about defeating the Steelers and Ravens twice, as the most it will go is 1-1. The Texans are a hot team this season, but the Browns, Rams, and Cardinals should be easy wins for the Bengals.

 This is very common with teams that get off to a hot start but can break down. It happened to the Washington Redskins when they had Jim Zorn and finished 8-8, Josh McDaniels and the Broncos went 8-8, and the New York Giants went 9-7 when Kurt Warner was playing for the New York Giants. Indeed, the Bengals may be the team this year.

The Bengals have a consistent defense, but their offense still has some work to do. Andy Dalton is a rookie and will continue to make mistakes and Cedric Benson is not running lights out this season. The Bengals have started out strong, but regardless of what happens, they have shown everyone that they will compete. 

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