The Cincinnati Bengals won’t be in the postseason and the Cleveland Browns are locked in as the No. 5 seed in the AFC playoffs, but that doesn’t mean the regular-season finale is pointless.
The Browns have owned the season series with the Bengals the past four seasons with a 7-2 record.
Cincinnati still leads the all-time series 52-48, but getting swept by the Browns would add another layer of disappointment to a season that’s already fallen short of lofty expectations.
A win would also mean the Bengals avoid going winless in the division for the first time in Zac Taylor’s tenure.
The last time Cincinnati was winless in the division was 2002 when they finished the season 2-14 under Dick LeBeau.
Roster turnover is inevitable in the NFL. Wide receiver Tyler Boyd will be an unrestricted free agent in the offseason and Tee Higgins will be a restricted free agent.
The Bengals will have to decide whether to apply the franchise tag to Higgins – currently projected to be around $21 million – transition tag – projected to be around $19 million – sign him to a contract extension, or let him sign with another team.
Pro Football Network’s Jay Morrison dug up an interesting stat for the Bengals in regular season finales at home.
Cincinnati is 33-8 all time to close out the season and send fans home on a winning note.
The Bengals are currently slotted to pick 16th in the upcoming NFL draft.
There’s no path to a top-10 pick and they can only drop as low as 17 with a win.
So, there’s no reason to root for a loss to improve draft position.
