CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bengals did what they needed to do in the last five games of the season, but they were officially eliminated from playoff contention Sunday when the Denver Broncos crushed the Kansas City Chiefs, 38-0.
The Bengals took care of its last controllable, beating the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Steel City, in primetime Saturday night, 19-17. It was a gutsy, sloppy win, and it set up a possible playoff berth.
But the Broncos crushed the Chiefs' back-ups, who played because Kansas City had already locked up the number 1 seed in the AFC.
Here's what needed to happen for the Bengals to make the 7th and final playoff spot in the AFC:
The Kansas City Chiefs needed to BEAT the Denver Broncos (didn't happen)
The New York Jets needed to BEAT OR TIE the Miami Dolphins (didn't matter because the Broncos beat the Chiefs)
With their win, the Broncos will play a Wild Card round game in Buffalo against Josh Allen and the Number 2-seed Bills. If the Bengals had made it into the playoffs, they would've headed to Buffalo.
After their win Sunday, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow said this was the spot they got themselves into.
"Anytime you don't make the playoffs it's a failure," Burrow said in Sunday's press conference. "That's what you're aiming for every year."
Sunday's game marked the possible end of an era for the Bengals with franchise tagged-receiver Tee Higgins' future up in the air as free agency awaits him.
On Sunday, Burrow expressed that he'd like to see Higgins in Cincinnati's orange and black stripes next season, saying they "started this whole thing together."
"Tee's a great player and a guy that does everything the right way and works really hard for it," Burrow said. "When you have a guy like that, you don't, you just can't let him get out of the building. He's a one-of-a-kind person. One-of-a-kind player."
The Bengals also end their season with star wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase as the likely triple crown winner (leading the league in receptions, receiving TDs and receiving yards), and defensive end Trey Hendrickson is the league's sacks leader.
On a high note, Burrow — who's arguably played the best football of his career this season — said he has higher hopes for next year, especially since he came into this year nursing his wrist injury.
"I expect next year to be better," Burrow said. "That's how it was with my knee."
