The Bengals just keep finding a way to win with Jake Browning.
Cincinnati picked up its third consecutive victory in Week 15, topping the Vikings in overtime to move to 8-6 and into the sixth seed in the AFC playoff picture.
On Saturday, Cincinnati will look to further bolster its playoff spot. The Bengals will face the AFC North rival Steelers, another wild-card contender that has faltered in recent weeks after the injury to QB Kenny Pickett. The last time these two teams faced off, the Steelers contained Browning in his first NFL start to just 10 points in a 16-10 win in Cincinnati.
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Beating the Steelers in Week 16 would help propel Cincinnati further into the playoff mix all while all but eliminating its division rival from the race.
Here’s a look at the Bengals’ playoff chances heading into Saturday’s game.
Bengals playoff picture
The Bengals head into the Saturday matchup currently in the sixth spot in the AFC playoff picture with an 8-6 record. They are one of four teams in the wild-card race with an 8-6 record, and one of five total AFC teams with that record.
| Seed | Team | Record |
| 1 | Ravens | 11-3 |
| 2 | Dolphins | 10-4 |
| 3 | Chiefs | 9-5 |
| 4 | Jaguars | 8-6 |
| 5 | Browns | 9-5 |
| 6 | Bengals | 8-6 |
| 7 | Colts | 8-6 |
| 8 | Texans | 8-6 |
| 9 | Bills | 8-6 |
| 10 | Steelers | 7-7 |
| 11 | Broncos | 7-7 |
Cincinnati has several head-to-head matchups that benefit the team. The Bengals beat the Bills and Colts, which would give the two tiebreaking edges over both teams. They also beat the Jaguars, should Jacksonville fall out of its current AFC South lead.
Other tiebreakers, however, are not as favorable. The Bengals lost to the Texans. Should they wind up tied with either the Browns or Steelers, Cincinnati would fall behind either of them. The Bengals have already lost to each of them, ensuring they can do no better than have a split series against them. And Cincinnati has already guaranteed the worst AFC North divisional record.
Bengals remaining schedule
The Bengals won’t have any easy games left on the schedule. Cincinnati faces the Steelers in Week 16, then heads on the road to play against the Chiefs. It ends the year at home against the Browns.
| Week | Opponent | Bengals’ win odds |
| 16 | at Steelers | 59% |
| 17 | at Chiefs | 31.4% |
| 18 | vs. Browns | 64.8% |
Cincinnati has had some thrilling matchups with the Chiefs in recent years, but the model doesn’t like the Bengals’ chances against Kansas City without Joe Burrow.
The model currently favors the Bengals by four points in a rematch with the Browns in Cincinnati. However, it’s worth noting the Bengals have struggled more with the Browns than other teams in recent years.
Bengals playoff chances
Per Sporting News’ projection model, the Bengals have a 23.1 percent chance of reaching the playoffs. Cincinnati had only a 2.8 percent chance after falling to the Steelers in Week 13, but three straight wins has vaulted the Bengals all the way up to a near one-in-four chance.
Here’s a look at the playoff odds without the Ravens and Chiefs, who are both all but guaranteed to win their respective divisions.
| Team | xW-L | Div% | WC% | Playoff% |
| Dolphins | 12-5 | 78.2% | 21.6% | 99.9% |
| Jaguars | 10-7 | 59.0% | 28.8% | 87.8% |
| Browns | 10-7 | 3.0% | 72.5% | 75.4% |
| Bills | 10-7 | 21.8% | 41.3% | 63.1% |
| Texans | 10-7 | 20.5% | 41.8% | 62.3% |
| Colts | 10-7 | 20.5% | 37.2% | 57.7% |
| Broncos | 9-8 | 0.6% | 25.5% | 26.1% |
| Bengals | 10-7 | 0.0% | 23.1% | 23.1% |
| Steelers | 8-9 | 0.0% | 4.5% | 4.5% |
The odds are still considerably low compared to other AFC teams. A major issue for the Bengals is the remaining schedule. The Bengals all but certainly have to go at least 2-1 over the final stretch to have a chance. The Bengals also have several tiebreakers going against them in their divisional record and lackluster AFC record (3-6 to date).
The head-to-head tiebreakers should still help, but there could be scenarios that still play out unfavorably for the Bengals given their slow start to the season and given the rest of the season for other playoff contenders. The Bengals have the seventh-most difficult strength of schedule based on rest-of-season win percentage left in 2023.
Here’s how other AFC wild-card foes rank:
| Team | Opponents | Win Percentage |
| Dolphins | Cowboys, Ravens, Bills | .690 (1) |
| Steelers | Bengals, Seahawks, Ravens | .619 (5) |
| Texans | Browns, Titans, Colts | .524 (t-14) |
| Browns | Texans, Jets, Bengals | .500 (t-17) |
| Colts | Falcons, Raiders, Texans | .476 (t-19) |
| Bills | Chargers, Patriots, Dolphins | .429 (24) |
| Broncos | Patriots, Chargers, Raiders | .333 (t-29) |
| Jaguars | Buccaneers, Panthers, Titans | .333 (t-29) |
Should Cincinnati handle its own gauntlet, there could be enough chaos and favorable head-to-head tiebreakers to get the Bengals into the postseason. But that will be easier said than done given the schedule ahead for Cincinnati.