Follow us:

Best-case scenario: They're competitive, but lose out. Yes, it's the same situation as with the Cowboys. If Joe Burrow were playing, you could definitely make the case that winning would be meaningful to Cincinnati's culture. But with Brandon Allen, victories down the stretch don't carry much significance. The Bengals have a 50.6 percent chance at a top-three pick. The obvious need is offensive line help.

Without Joe Burrow, they just can't compete. It's all about next year. Getting Burrow healthy this offseason is priority No. 1.

Kinda sad to see franchise-tagged WR A.J. Green become irrelevant after being held without a catch for third time in four weeks.

Person with most at stake: Head coach Zac Taylor

At this point, Taylor needs wins to instill some confidence and show that things are moving in the right direction. So far, the Bengals have four wins since Taylor became coach in 2019, and they need one victory to avoid their second straight two-win season. Whether it's doing enough to keep his job or building momentum for 2021, Taylor could use a few wins to close his second year. -- Ben Baby

If Zac Taylor is to have a third season on the sideline in Cincinnati, he'd better hope decision-makers somehow missed Sunday's 19-7 defeat to the Dolphins. The Bengals were an undisciplined mess during their seventh loss in the past eight weeks. Offensive struggles are to be expected with Brandon Allen starting in place of the injured Joe Burrow at quarterback, but this was a sloppy effort that doesn't reflect well on the coaching staff. Cincinnati actually took a 7-6 lead into halftime, but the Bengals were badly outplayed from that point on, falling to 1-5 this season in games in which they have led after two quarters. It's reasonable to think Taylor could be entering the season's final four weeks on the hot seat.