CINCINNATI BENGALS (9-8)

Expectations

Owner Mike Brown has the most patience in professional sports when it comes to his coaches, but if the Bengals get off to another slow start or miss the playoffs, it will likely be the end of Zac Taylor's tenure. The Bengals reached the Super Bowl in 2021 and the AFC Championship game the next season but have missed the playoffs the last two years. Taylor is going into his seventh season as coach and is 7-14-1 in September games, the fourth-worst mark among teams since 2019. Cincinnati opens at Cleveland on Sept. 7 and hosts Jacksonville one week later. It should be 1-1 at worst before a tough five-game stretch — at Vikings, at Broncos (on Monday night), vs. Lions, at Packers and vs. Steelers (on Thursday night). They have one of the top offenses in

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