Expecting Joe Burrow to play perfect football for six weeks after returning from a turf toe injury and lead the Bengals to the playoffs was always a tall order, even though they nearly managed it last year by winning their last five games.

The harsh reality is that unless Burrow plays error-free football, Cincinnati’s chances of winning are slim given its porous defense.

Cincinnati (4-9) has just a 1% playoff chance after Sunday’s 39-34 loss at Buffalo . The Bengals need both Pittsburgh (7-6) and Baltimore (6-7) to falter, and must win out themselves, to claim the AFC North via a three-way head-to-head tiebreaker.

“I know we’re up against the wall here with whatever our opportunities are, but we got a big home game this week in the division, so we’ve got to be able to pick ourselves u

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