The Bengals of this decade are not accustomed to losing much.
From 2011-2015, Marvin Lewis’s team went 52-27-1 in the regular season. In the two seasons since that five-year stretch, they’re 13-18-1, a far cry from the playoff contending franchise they established themselves to be. But in the NFL, it’s a “what have you done for me lately” industry.
From the national perspective, recent underwhelming campaigns have put a poor awareness on the Bengals roster, and in turn, some of the players as well. Negative regression hit a few players in specific last year, and the losing only seemed to compound on the perception.