Week 5 “We’re a good team. We’re resilient team. We’re a physical team and we’re going to be a relentless team ”
If I told you before the 2021 season began that the Cincinnati Bengals would go to overtime against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers - to only lose by 3; what would you say to me? Most fans would say that would be a huge moral win for the Bengals. Something to show that the team is moving in the right direction. Well, that's exactly what happened but, unfortunately, the mood around the city doesn’t seem great. I understand that fans are excited about this team and that is great. But do you think the Bills became good overnight? Or did things take time to develop and become what it is today?
For this exercise let’s compare the Bengals and the Bills. Currently the Bengals are in the third year of the rebuild and the Bills are in the fifth year of the rebuild. Both teams picked their new head coach to change the culture for their teams and inherited a quarterback that wasn’t for them. Which leads each team going into the draft looking for a new QB1. The Bills landed Josh Allen with the 7th overall pick, and the Bengals landed Joe Burrow with the 1st overall pick. Each team had to revamp their offense and build around their new starting quarterback.
In the second year of the rebuild with the new quarterback things were rough for both of these franchises. The Bills finished with a 6-10 record with the 30th best offense and the 18th best defense. The Bengals finished 4-11-1 with the 29th offense and the 22nd defense. Both teams had their limitations, the Bills were struggling to fully figure out Josh Allen, while the Bengals were struggling to keep Joe Burrow upright. The main parallel for these two teams is that they were progressing - while working through the growing pains. With each game that passes you lay a new brick to success. When looking at these teams you really have to watch the games to understand the direction of the team.
The third year of the rebuild is incomplete for the Bengals as it's the current season. But we can look at how the Bills third year played out, as well as year four. The Bills finished their third rebuilding year with a 10-6 record, the 23rd ranked offense and the 2nd ranked defense. They made it to the wild card and lost to the Houston Texans 10-7. This team was far from perfect, they played great defense, had a couple of things go their way but believed they could win. The 2019 Bills started the season 4-1 with wins over the Jets, Giants, Bengals, and Titans. Let's compare that to the 2021 Bengals who are currently 3-2. The Bengals currently have the 18th ranked offense, and the 7th ranked defense. The Bengals have a possibility of ending the year at 9-8 or 10-7 competing for a wild card seat. So at this point things are looking very similar. If the Bengals make it to the wild card this year we are on pace with the Buffalo Bills.
The fourth year of the rebuild for the Bills saw a massive jump. The Bills finished 13-3 with the 2nd best offense and the 16th best defense. They ended up going to the AFC championship game and lost to the defending champs 38-24. The fourth year rebuild-Bills were one step from making it to the Super Bowl. After a loss to the Chiefs the Bills find themselves in the 2021 season sitting 4-1 with the number 1 offense and defense. The Bills look dominant and it seems like nothing will stand in their way this year. If you look at their roster you don’t see a huge talent gap. You see some key players, but what really sets them apart is the way they truly believe in themselves. That's what makes them a special team, look at this roadmap and check it to the Cincinnati Bengals and see how far off they are. Remember this is only year three and the second year with Joe Burrow.
