2010 was a season to forget for the Cincinnati Bengals after finishing with a 4-12 record–which was obviously a huge disappointment considering all of the hype during the offseason following numerous key additions. After parting ways with Carson Palmer, Chad Ochocinco, Johnathan Joseph, and Antwan Odom, this season was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Bengals with one of the youngest teams in football, but through the first six weeks of the regular season–that’s been anything but the case.
Thanks to a strong defense and great leadership by rookie quarterback Andy Dalton, Cincinnati is off to an impressive 4-2 start–matching last year’s win total with 10 games left in the 2011 season. After losing two of their first three games, the Bengals have won three straight following a 27-17 win over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday and head into their bye week on a positive note by already matching last year’s win total–which nobody could have predicted.
Mike Zimmer has done a phenomenal job at defensive coordinator as the Bengals’ defense ranks in the top five overall in the NFL and has yet to allow an opponent to score more than 24 points in a game. Dalton has looked like anything but a rookie by exceeding all expectations in his first six games–including two impressive come-from-behind wins back-to-back weeks against the Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars.
Even if they fail to reach the postseason, this year could still end up being a win for the Bengals considering how impressive they’ve looked so far this season. For a team that most analysts expected to win four or five games at most, it’s unbelievable to think how many problems Cincinnati will cause for other teams this season–especially when it comes to the AFC North.
Dan Parzych is the Lead NFL Content Editor for www.RantSports.com/NFL, where he writes and edits NFL content for www.RantSports.com.
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