History suggests Bengals face major challenge for Super Bowl return

A week after losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers in overtime to open the season, the Cincinnati Bengals fell to 0-2 with an equally painful loss on the road to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 2. Could the defending AFC champions be the victim of a Super Bowl hangover?

Cincinnati is the second team over the past 20 years to start the season 0-2 after a Super Bowl run, joining the 2015 Seattle Seahawks, per StatMuse.

CBS Sports' Bryan DeArdo wrote the Bengals' road back to the Super Bowl could be daunting:

"Only eight teams in NFL history -- the 1971 Cowboys, the '72 Dolphins, the '73 Vikings, the '87 Broncos, the 1991-93 Bills and the 2018 Patriots -- have returned to the Super Bowl the year after losing the Big Game. And out of those teams, only the '71 Cowboys, '72 Dolphins and '18 Patriots were able to hoist the Lombardi Trophy a year after being on the short end of the Super Bowl scoreboard."

While returning to the Super Bowl has proven particularly difficult the season following a loss in the contest, many Super Bowl losers have managed to return to the playoffs the following season, a feat the Bengals may have trouble matching after an 0-2 start. Per NBC Sports' Max Molski:

"Out of the first 55 Super Bowl losers, 38 came back to make the playoffs the next season. The 69.1% playoff rate would refute the notion of a 'Super Bowl runner-up jinx.' Of the 17 runners-up that failed to make the playoffs, 11 did not even reach a .500 record -- like the 2003 Raiders. All 11 instances have come since 1989, with the earliest being the 1989 Denver Broncos and the most recent being the 2019 San Francisco 49ers."

Many are putting the blame on the Bengals' revamped offensive line that already has allowed 13 sacks. Head coach Zac Taylor seems to agree, telling reporters, including NFL.com's Kevin Patra, "I think we've given up too many sacks, absolutely."