Bengals fans are rightfully excited about their team's return to the spotlight on Monday Night Football. It's been almost two years since the orange and black were featured on the big stage.
Their opponent, the Baltimore Ravens, are expected to contend for the AFC North title and at least get back into the 2012-13 NFL postseason.
That's where the problem lies.
The Cincinnati Bengals have lost their last 15 games against teams that would go on to make the playoffs. Open the history books a little further, and have lost 20 of their last 21 games against postseason-bound opponents.
A little bright spot - that one win in the last 21 games was against Baltimore.
The streak began in 2009. The Bengals were 9-3 and facing Minnesota. The Vikings crushed the Bengals 30-10, and would go on to win the NFC North. The following week, San Diego beat Cincinnati 27-24 en route to an AFC West title.
2009 ended with back-to-back losses to the New York Jets, 37-0 in the regular season and 24-14 in the playoffs.
In 2010, the Bengals faced nine teams that would go on to make the playoffs.
After losing to New England in week one, they took down Baltimore on September 19th, 15-10. Without scoring a single touchdown, they beat the tough Ravens defense thanks to Mike Nugent's fie field goals.
It was the last time they beat a playoff team, losing 15 in a row since that day.
| Date | Opponent | Score | Opp. Playoff berth |
| Oct. 24, 2010 | Atlanta | Loss - 39-32 | NFC South champion |
| Nov. 8, 2010 | Pittsburgh | Loss - 27-21 | AFC North champion |
| Nov. 14, 2010 | Indianapolis | Loss - 23-17 | AFC South champion |
| Nov. 25, 2010 | New York Jets | Loss - 26-10 | AFC Wild Card team |
| Dec. 5, 2010 | New Orleans | Loss - 34-30 | NFC Wild Card team |
| Dec 12, 2010 | Pittsburgh | Loss - 23-7 | AFC North champion |
| Jan 2, 2011 | Baltimore | Loss - 13-7 | AFC Wild Card team |
| Sept. 18, 2011 | Denver | Loss - 24-22 | AFC West champion |
| Sept. 25, 2011 | San Francisco | Loss - 13-8 | NFC West champion |
| Nov. 13, 2011 | Pittsburgh | Loss - 24-17 | AFC Wild Card team |
| Nov. 20, 2011 | Baltimore | Loss - 31-24 | AFC North champion |
| Dec 4, 2011 | Pittsburgh | Loss - 35-7 | AFC Wild Card team |
| Dec. 11, 2011 | Houston | Loss - 20-19 | AFC South champion |
| Jan. 1, 2012 | Baltimore | Loss - 24-16 | AFC North champion |
| Jan. 7, 2012 | Houston | Loss - 31-10 | AFC South champion |
Yes, the Bengals have won 11 games since this streak began. But not a single one of those 11 wins came against a team that made the postseason that year.
Obviously, we won't know if tonight's Bengals game will continue the streak or snap it until later this year when the playoff picture begins to form.
But it's still an interesting streak going on.
- Jeff Seemann
