Yesterday was a big body blow to the team (especially with Cleveland and Pittsburgh both winning). But I still think a solid regular season run is possible to still make the playoffs.
The team wasn’t healthy yesterday and I think it showed. Getting Tee back and Ja’marr at 100% is going to do wonders. The defense has had its ups and downs all year but have consistently shown an ability to bounce back. It looks rough right now but I think this team still has it in them
The New York Times (paywall) has a playoff machine. You can select every game left and see what happens. I’ve done this several times and after the Houston loss the Baltimore game is a must win. It’d still be possible to make the playoffs but they’d need so much help that it’s not practical. The AFC has thus far over-performed to the point that I cannot find a realistic scenario where a 10 win Cincinnati team makes it in. The 8th seed is as high as I can make that happen. It seems the biggest problem with losing yesterday is the Texans remaining schedule makes them now likely to occupy a playoff seed which removes numerous pathways for the Bengals. Even throwing some wild scenarios in like the Ravens or Buffalo dropping 4-5 more still has Cincinnati outside looking in after a Baltimore loss.