Bengals get Week 13 help as playoff chances improve originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Joe Burrow's return to the Cincinnati Bengals offense on Thanksgiving night was something that every fan was looking forward to.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementEn route to Cincinnati's 32-14 win over the Baltimore Ravens, Burrow completed 24-of-46 passes for 261 yards and two touchdowns. It looked like the franchise quarterback hadn't missed a beat against the division rival.
After their win on Thursday, and the Pittsburgh Steelers dropped a second-straight game on Sunday, the Bengals are slowly starting to emerge in the playoff picture.
More: Bengals' Zac Taylor gives injury updates after Thanksgiving win over Ravens
Bengals are now just two games behind the Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens for AFC North lead
With five games left in the regular season, the Bengals have all of a sudden placed themselves as a team that could still win the AFC North.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Steelers have dropped to a 6-6 record after their loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 13. As did the Ravens. With this being said, the Bengals, who are 4-8, are just two games behind in the race for the AFC North division title.
Cincinnati also holds the best divisional record among the three teams.
If they can revive this season and pick up some momentum, there's no saying that the Bengals can't make the playoffs.
In the final five games of the regular season, the Bengals play just two teams that are currently at or above the .500 mark: the Buffalo Bills (8-4) in Week 14 and the Baltimore Ravens (6-6) in Week 15.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAfter those games, Cincinnati plays the Miami Dolphins (5-7), the Arizona Cardinals (3-9), and the Cleveland Browns (3-9).
It will be interesting to see how the rest of this season plays out for orange and black. If they can stay healthy, a division title is still possible.
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