Few, if any, teams are capable of stopping the Cincinnati Bengals heading into this NFL season.
Sometimes, you just know…
The last two years watching the Cincinnati Bengals turn it around has been nothing short of incredible to watch. I mean, they were pitiful towards the end of the Andy Dalton era under center in the Queen City. He was a great player for him earlier in his prime, but man, that thing got stale fast. For now, the Bengals are without question one of the coolest and best franchises in the NFL.
With so much at stake, here are five dream scenarios that would indicate a perfect year for them.
Cincinnati Bengals: 5 dream scenarios for a perfect 2023 NFL season
5. Zac Taylor finally gets the respect he has earned as a top-five NFL head coach
It wasn't easy for him initially taking over for Marvin Lewis, but I think this is the year Zac Taylor finally gets the respect he deserves as a head coach. He may have an incredible coaching staff behind him, but I think the type of season the Bengals are capable of will be because of the culture he has set in place. He is an offensive mind, but he has all of his players and staff pulling together.
No, he's not going to become the next Andy Reid or Bill Belichick overnight, but there will come a point during the season where Taylor gets the love and fanfare of other high-quality coaches in the league such as Doug Pederson, Sean McDermott and even Brian Daboll. The Bengals have to obviously win titles first for him to reach the coaching summit, but he is well on his way already.
Ultimately, I just get a sense that there will be a game or three this fall where Taylor's underrated coaching brilliance will get his team wins they did not deserve. When you are clawing and scratching in the NFL's black and blue division and sitting near the top of the league's highest perch, you want home-field advantage more than anything. The No. 1 seed is a real possibility.
One of the best things that can happen to the Bengals this season is for Taylor to get his shine.
4. Joe Burrow wins NFL MVP with something akin to his 2019 Heisman season
There are really only two things Joe Burrow needs to do at this point of his pro career to be well on his way towards eventual Canton enshrinement: Lead the Bengals to their first Super Bowl championship in franchise history and win NFL MVP. The former would mean more to him and the entire region, to be honest, but he could join Ken Anderson and Boomer Esiason with a great year.
Given their dysfunctional nature historically, we tend to forget just how great the quarterback play has been throughout much of the Bengals history. Most franchises would be lucky to have an Andy Dalton or Carson Palmer as their No. 2 guy all time. Now, with Burrow's ascendance, they're fourth and fifth behind Anderson, Esiason and now The Geauxt. Burrow has a runway to become the best.
So what is it going to take for Burrow to be a league MVP? Well, Cincinnati needs to win around 12 or more games and be a top-two seed in the postseason, first and foremost. After that, maybe try to approach the ungodly amount of stats Burrow compiled during unforgettable final year at LSU. No, he doesn't have to throw for 6,000 yards, but to approach around 5,000 would be so stellar.
Burrow winning MVP means the Bengals will have way more positive momentum beyond 2023.
3. Lou Anarumo and Brian Callahan get what they deserve, become NFL head coaches in 2024
This is the one I'm probably rooting for the hardest to happen. One of the reasons why I am so incredibly high on the Bengals this year is the fact Cincinnati returns both of its top-flight coordinators in Lou Anarumo and Brian Callahan. Aranumo nearly got the Arizona Cardinals gig, while Callahan was very much in the mix to get the Indianapolis Colts job. This is their season.
Even if Anarumo lost one of his best players off last year's defense in Jessie Bates III to my Atlanta Falcons, he's kind of a proven commodity as a defensive coordinator. With his semi-regular appearances on The Pat McAfee Show, his national profile is now to the level where it would be criminal if he didn't get to lead his own team in 2024. His next trip on the carousel will be his last.
As for Callahan, he does have coaching pedigree on his side. I mean, Zac Taylor played for his father Bill at Nebraska. No, this isn't nepotism, as Brian Callahan has quickly emerged as one of the savviest devisers of the passing game in the league today. He was still a tad too green to get his own team last year. With a larger amount of openings, he will get one if there are at least six.
These departures may hurt the Bengals in 2024, but I think everyone is pulling for them as well.
2. Cincinnati Bengals beat Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs in succession in AFC playoffs
Over the last two years, the Bengals have beaten the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead to reach Super Bowl 56 and defeated the Buffalo Bills in Orchard Park to set up an AFC title bout rematch in KC. But what if I told you, the Bengals could potentially knock both of their emerging conference rivals in succession in the postseason? Divisionals and championship game to get to Las Vegas.
Of course, I do envision other teams to be incredible over in the AFC as well. If it's the Jacksonville Jaguars meeting them in the divisionals or beyond, so what? That team is trending up, as could be clubs like the division rival Baltimore Ravens, the Los Angeles Chargers and the New York Jets. However, ending the Bills' and Chiefs' seasons in back to back weeks is such a freaking ego trip.
Don't tell me you wouldn't be brimming with the utmost confidence if you were on the 2023 Bengals that slayed its conference's two other ferocious dragons in the span of seven days. With that confidence, you know what that means. To quote the iconic Jalen Ramsey, "We're going to the Super Bowl, and we're gonna win that b***h." Nobody is beating Cincy if they pulled this parlay off.
Even if they came up short in Las Vegas vs. the NFC winner, their pathway in would be legendary.
1. Cincinnati Bengals win the Super Bowl, and party so hard later in Las Vegas!
Yeah, surprise! I'm gonna ride or die with the 2023 Bengals this year, as they are my pick to win the Super Bowl. Right now, I would say they beat the Dallas Cowboys in Las Vegas, but it could also be the Philadelphia Eagles or the San Francisco 49ers coming out of the NFC. The point is this feels like the Bengals' year, even more so than how last year was supposed to be the Bills' season.
It's team with tremendous roster construction, an elite coaching staff and a top-three quarterback in the game today, still on a rookie deal for that matter. We also have to appreciate that Bengals ownership is no longer a hinderance, but a strength for this franchise. There is a level of gratitude towards what Burrow has brought them and there is a newfound sense of bravery in the building.
Look. Most quarterbacks never get back to the Super Bowl these days if they lost their first one. I think the last quarterback to start out his career 0-for in the Super Bowl and still win one was John Elway. Well, guess what? He too was a college football legend, went No. 1 overall coming out and deliver his beloved franchise its first Lombardi Trophy. That is what Burrow is going to do so soon.
If the Atlanta Falcons can't win the Super Bowl, then I want it to be the Cincinnati Bengals instead.