Cincinnati Bengals preview 2023: Over or Under 11.5 wins? Chances to claim AFC North title?

It’s NFL team preview time, and today we’re looking at the Cincinnati Bengals. Each Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from July 25 through Sept. 8, we will take an in-depth look at each team in the NFL with a 7- to 10-minute video going through impactful additions and departures, last year’s rankings and strength of schedule in 2023.

Bet.NOLA.com analyst Jim Derry will then make a prediction on the team’s record this season and where they will finish in their respective division, along with the over/under win total, as posted by our partners at Caesars Sportsbook.

These stories are a brief summary of the accompanied preview videos – powered by the Dattitude Podcast (which will review each division every Friday until the season begins). The schedule for when each team will run is listed below with a link to each story and video that already has run.

CINCINNATI BENGALS

Coach: Zac Taylor (5th season)

2022 record: 12-4, 1st in AFC North; defeated Baltimore Ravens, 24-17, in wild-card round; defeated Buffalo Bills, 27-10, in divisional round; lost to Kansas City Chiefs, 23-20, in AFC Championship.

Last season in a nutshell: Another team with a tale of two halves, and this one has a happier (somewhat) ending than the Detroit Lions we talked about earlier this week.

The Bengals were really one play away from losing to the Saints in Week 6 that would have put them 2-4 and eventually 3-5 at the midway point. However, two weeks after the win at New Orleans, they lost to Cleveland (whom they seem to not be able to beat on the road) before going on a eight-game win streak to end the regular season.

Along the way, they seemed to pick up steam with each victory, knocking down Kansas City, Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Bucs, the Buffalo Bills and the Baltimore Ravens. It was much of the same early in the playoffs, as Cincinnati topped the Ravens for the second straight week and then walloped the Bills in the divisional round.

They then lost in controversial fashion to the Chiefs, which kept them out of appearing in a second straight Super Bowl.

It was a better year for the Bengals and their offensive line than the previous year, but status quo for their mediocre defense could have been a large chunk of their demise. Can they fix that in 2023?

2023 bye week: 7

2023 Draft: 1 (28th overall) DE Myles Murphy, Clemson; 2 (60) DB DJ Turner, Michigan; 3 (95) DB Jordan Battle, Alabama; 4 (131) WR Charlie Jones, Purdue; 5 (163) RB Chase Brown, Illinois; 6 (206) WR Andrei Iosivas, Princeton; 6 (217) P Brad Robbins, Michigan; 7 (246) CB DJ Ivey, Miami (Fla.).

Free-agent signings: LT Orlando Brown (from Kansas City), 4 years, $64.09M; S Nick Scott (from LA Rams), 3 years, $12M; TE Irv Smith (from Minnesota), 1 year, $1.75M; Trevor Siemian (cut); CB Sidney Jones (cut); G Cody Ford (from Arizona), 1 year, $1.08M.

What needs to go right: First off, before we even talk about anything else, Burrow must be healthy and he must be healthy (enough) all season long. If the Bengals have to play an even short stretch without him, that could spell disaster.

With that, assuming he is OK, they just need to be themselves and need to play a little bit better defense throughout the season and not just in December and January. “But wait! The only thing that really matters is December and January!”

Hmm, just think if this team had been a little better early in the season and lost two fewer games – not only would they have had to play one fewer postseason game, but they would have played the Chiefs at home in the AFC championship game. In this conference, especially, earning that top seed really matters. (Unless you’re the Tennessee Titans.)

Can this receiving corps continue to be as good as they have been? More specifically, can Ja’Marr Chase continue to put up gaudy numbers? Even in 12 games played last season, he still caught 87 passes (more than his rookie season of 2021) for 1,046 yards and nine touchdowns, and that has him going as the consensus No. 2 overall player in fantasy drafts only to his former LSU (and 2016 New Orleans Times-Picayune All-Metro prep) teammate, Justin Jefferson.

Oh, and going 4-2 in divisional play wouldn’t hurt, either. However, finding a way to beat Cleveland in the Dawg Pound (where the Browns have won five in a row) might help.

Key moments in video:

0:00 Cincinnati Bengals preview

1:02 Who Dey vs. Who Dat?

1:57 Can the Bengals win in Cleveland?

2:27 It all starts with Joe Burrow

4:00 The weapons begin with Chase

7:24 Dissecting the schedule

8:28 Predictions, best bet