NFL.com Names Bengals as Team That 'Most Needs to Make Playoffs' During 2025 Season

 NFL.com's Judy Battista broke down the NFL teams under the most pressure to perform well this fall and she had Cincinnati at the top of the "Most Needs to Make the Playoffs" tier.

The Cowboys and Dolphins joined Cincinnati in that mix.

"Every season of Joe Burrow’s career that ends without a playoff appearance is a missed opportunity and a squandering of one of the best players in the game," Battista stated. "The Bengals have spent the offseason behaving like a team that believes it is close. They kept their championship-caliber offense intact, with contracts for Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. They need to solve the contract standoff with reigning NFL sacks leader Trey Hendrickson, which threatens to linger deep into the summer. 

"Even modest defensive improvement from last season should be enough to push the Bengals into the playoffs -- everybody remembers how dangerous the offense looked in the second half of the 2024 season -- but the most immediate challenge begins much sooner. For the Bengals to go anywhere, they have to eliminate their penchant for slow starts. Burrow’s good health certainly helps that effort, but limiting contract distractions like Hendrickson's is also important. It’s also worth paying attention to how the Bengals handle participation in training camp practices and preseason games."

Missing the playoffs three years in a row at the beginning of Joe Burrow's prime years would be an unmitigated disaster.

If the defense and special teams make just a slight improvement, Cincinnati should be in the playoff field, given its amazing offense that has led all NFL teams in passing touchdowns since 2021 (141 scores).

Cincinnati currently has the seventh-best odds to make the playoffs on Fanduel Sportsbook (-168).

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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