There are a few obvious reasons why the Bengals need to win today against the Chicago Bears. They want to shake off that disappointing loss last Sunday to the Texans. They want to show the fans that this team is different than those of the past. And they want to stay atop the AFC North Division.
But I think the most significant reason for a victory is that the Bengals have a bye next week on their schedule, and history shows us that the Bengals are horrible when they return from a bye.
A bye is simply a week off. A little vacation time in the middle of the season. A chance to go home for a few days or spend some extra time with the family. It's also a time to heal some of those bruises from the first seven weeks of the season.
But something mysterious must happen to the Bengals. Since the bye was first instituted in the 1990 season, the Bengals have won 4 games, lost 15 and tied one in the week following the bye.
I'm not Mr Statistic, but I have to think that ranks with the worst of all time in the NFL.
It makes no difference when the bye comes. In 2000, the Bengals had the bye in the first week of the season. They then proceeded to lose their opener to Cleveland.
In 1999, the bye came on December 19, Week 14. They then lost in week 15 to the Ravens.
Some bright light in the NFL office thought it would be fun to have two bye weeks in 1993. The Bengals came back and lost to the Chiefs and the Steelers.
In 1996 and 1997, their bye week each time preceded games against the Denver Broncos. Denver beat them both times, once at Cinergy Field, the next year at
Mile High Stadium.
I guess it shouldn't be a secret that the Bengals are bad after a bye week. Over the past 20 years, they've been bad in just about any week of the season.
There can't be any one reason for their dismal showing. It's occurred with five different head coaches and hundreds of different players.
In case you were wondering, the Bengals haven't been much better over the years in the game prior to the bye. Their record is 5 wins, 14 losses. So maybe the circumstances don't really matter.
If there's a good statistic to be found, it's that the Bengals have played better after the bye against division rivals. In fact, three of the post-bye victories have come against the Steelers, the other against the Ravens.
That's signficant because when the Bengals return from their bye in two weeks, they meet the Ravens and Steelers on back-to-back Sundays.
I know it's only week seven, but I think today marks a critical juncture for this team. A victory now can create some momentum some hope, a second straight loss can help make this season go bye-bye in a hurry.
