The outcome of when the Bengals and Raiders play today may have more of an impact on who will end up with a top-10 pick in the NFL Draft than any impact on this season.
The Bengals still have a minuscule chance at making the playoffs, but aside from the unlikelihood of them winning out, they need plenty of help for that to happen.
It’s been a rough eight weeks for the Bengals, who are 1-7 in that stretch. Their performance against the Chargers last week was at the very least respectable, but the comparative lack of talent between the two squads showed up at the tail end of the game where they just couldn’t finish the job.