“Control The Controllables”: Bengals Playoff Hopes Remain With Three Weeks Left

After back-to-back road wins, the Bengals are still alive in the AFC playoff race with three weeks remaining.

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The Athletic currently projects Cincinnati with a 5% chance to make it to the postseason. While there are multiple paths for the Bengals to get into the dance, they all start with winning their remaining games. The Athletic currently has Cincinnati favored in two of their last three, projected to win at home against the Cleveland Browns and Denver Broncos. The Bengals are currently underdogs in Week 18 at Pittsburgh.

“As long as we keep controlling what we can control and keep winning, we give ourselves a chance,” quarterback Joe Burrow said after the team’s 37-27 win over the Titans. “What I’m focused on right now is playing as good as we can play.”

If Cincinnati wins out, there are two clear paths to the playoffs, but two will become one after Thursday Night Football.

Predicting final 4 games on Bengals' schedule as they fight for their playoff lives

The Denver Broncos travel to Los Angeles to play the Chargers on Thursday. The winner of that game has the inside track to the six seed, while the loser will be on the border in the seven seed. The Athletic currently gives the Chargers a 51% chance to win.

If the Broncos beat the Chargers, the Bengals would need Los Angeles to lose its remaining games against the New England Patriots and the Las Vegas Raiders. That would put the Chargers at 8-9, and the Bengals would slide into the seven seed at 9-8. However, the Chargers are favored in both weeks.

If the Chargers beat the Broncos, the Bengals would need Denver to lose its remaining two games, one of which is in Cincinnati. Denver then hosts Kansas City in Week 18. A loss would see the Broncos finish the year at 9-8, but the Bengals would have the head-to-head tiebreaker over them to clinch the last spot. The Broncos are currently underdogs in both games.

In both scenarios, the Bengals also need the Indianapolis Colts and the Miami Dolphins to each lose one of their last three games. The Colts face off against the Tennessee Titans, New York Giants and Jacksonville Jaguars, while the Dolphins finish the year with the San Francisco 49ers, New England Patriots and New York Jets.

The plan is fairly simple: Control what you can control, keep winning and let the rest play out.

“We know what we’ve got to do. We know what has to happen,” running back Chase Brown said. “We’re going to focus on this one game at a time and control the controllables.”