The National Football League teams are again fighting for one of the seven spots needed to make it to the playoffs, as The National Football Conference has several teams in contention for the first seed.

These teams at the moment are the Arizona Cardinals with a record of 9-2, the Green Bay Packers with a record of 9-3 and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a record of 8-3. The American Football Conference is led by the Baltimore Ravens who have a record of 8-3, followed up by the New England Patriots and Tennessee Titans who both have a record of 8-4.

The week of Nov. 22 in the AFC, the New England Patriots and the Tennessee Titans faced off with the Pats, emerging victorious with a score of 36-13. In the NFC, the Packers would also come out with a victory of 36-28. The Baltimore Ravens would gain another win as they beat the Browns and the Cardinals would have a bye or week in which they don’t play a game.

Many analysts were surprised as the Kansas City Chiefs have had somewhat of an off season. Although the Chiefs are 7-4 and are likely to make the playoffs, many of their losses have been games at which they were the expected victors.

For instance, on Oct. 24, the Chiefs played the Tennessee Titans but only managed to put up three points and convert 33% of their third downs. This is a major decrease in production compared to last year when they played the Titans and put up 35 points with a 60% third down conversion.

In addition to the Chiefs having a surprising season, so have the Cincinnati Bengals, as they are 7-4, which is already better than their 4-11 record from last year. The Bengals have pulled wins out against some good teams, including the Ravens and Raiders.

The Bengals also improved their offense’s proficiency as they are putting up an average of 28.1 points per game. This is a major improvement from last year’s season, when they scored an average of 19.4 points per game.  “I think the Bengals are doing amazing, great receivers, great quarterback, solid defense, I think they’re overall a great team,” sophomore Colin Kalina said.

The Bengals’ coaching staff is a big part of their ability to put up points. Some of these coaches are fairly new to the organization, but head coach Zac Taylor claims that they have done a good job adjusting to their scheme. Although these coaches play a large role, they can not take all the credit; the team has brought on a lot of new players such as Joe Boschi, Tre Flowers and Ja’Marr Chase.  Chase has had a great season, as he is on track to put up 1300 yards which puts him in the top five rookie receiving yards for a season. He has put up an average of 75 yards a game with a touchdown in seven of the twelve already played.

There is no surprise when it comes to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who are competing for the first seed in the NFC which they were unable to clinch last year. The leader of the team is quarterback Tom Brady who is in his 22nd season. Brady is already referred to as the greatest of all time, but he is not thinking of stopping anytime soon, saying “I didn’t come this far to only come this far, I still have more to go.”  So far, the NFL has experienced a lot of new developments along with some of the same tendencies but it will surely be an exciting year. Many fans hope to see their team make the playoffs, but the players will be the ones to make it or break it for their teams.

NFL, Pro Sports, News, Sports, Cincinnati Bengals
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