The Cincinnati Bengals are in AFC championship game. Is it possible for something to seem surreal and feel like destiny at the same time?
This team probably shouldn’t be on the verge of a Super Bowl. Their star players just started their careers. Their head coach and coordinators on both sides of the ball had never led a unit for a full year in the NFL before they joined the Bengals. They should be stumbling regularly with each new hurdle they come up against. And for the most part they have.
Going to Chicago coming off a big win? Chicago’s intensity was a buzz saw and they flopped.
Heavy favorite in a prime time game against Jacksonville? It took them until the final buzzer to take the lead.
Waltzing in to face the Jets as the toast of the league after thrashing Baltimore? They took a punch, composed themselves, took control, and then got knocked out by a counterpunch.
They dug themselves a hole against the 49ers then clawed back into overtime only to short-arm the play calling in the red zone with a chance to snatch the win.
With Each setback pundits catalogued the evidence and built a construct of where the team stood in the league and what they were capable of in 2021. As a fan optimism and hope willed a more dynamic trajectory in my head for where the season was going. They are learning. They are growing. By the end of the year they have a chance to build momentum and peak at the right time. But as much as I wanted to believe what was happening my old thoughts on free agency classes and injury reports, all of the "what ifs" and "if only's..." from years past lingered hauntingly.
Maybe Laveranues Coles CAN replace T.J. Houshmandzadeh.
What if Antwan Odom is the guy to finally establish a reliable pass rush?
If Tyler Eifert comes back and stays healthy, he's really going to put the offense over the top.
The offensive line will really stabilize when Cordy Glenn gets healthy.
Yet, time after time 2021 kept proving to be different.
Chidobe Awuzie WAS able to replace William Jackson.
Trey Hendrickson IS an ascending pass rusher.
D.J. Reader came back from a significant leg injury at full strength and has anchored the defense.
A solid role player like Logan Wilson went down mid year and came back to bolster the defense.
Hendrickson. Awuzie. Ogunjobi as a compliment to Reader. Apple as a decent CB insurance policy. Chase over Sewell. Hit. Hit. Hit. Hit. Hit.
Yes, they've smashed into multiple hurdles this year, but they keep getting back up and keep coming back stronger. It all built to week 17 in a showdown with the top AFC contender that was rounding into form. In the first half it was step step step jump- smash: The Chiefs were scoring at will and it looked like they couldn't keep up. In the second half step step step jump. Holy crap they cleared it.
First playoff win in 30 years? Their foot clipped the top of the hurdle, but they cleared it!
First road playoff win ever ? Again not perfect form but they cleared it.
Now they are going on the road again to face the big boss. Mahommes is firing on all cylinders. The Chiefs defense has heard over and over about how much Chase destroyed them and they've been stewing on it for four weeks. This hurdle seems like the toughest. This one might be too high.
But despite the odds it's hard not to want to believe that something bigger is going on. Don't think Bengals fans haven't been eying the only team the Bengals have ever played in the Super Bowl heating up going on their own run on the other side of the bracket. 40 years ago the Bengals and the 49ers played for the first time for the league championship and John madden broadcasted his first super bowl. And now a month after Madden died planets strangely feel like they are aligning for a rematch.
A year ago, right before the Super Bowl one of the hosts of the Around the NFL podcast, Chris Wesseling, lost his fight with cancer. I listen to the show every week. A lot of sports media content tries to thread the needle of discussing sports news and analysis while also mixing in comradery, comedy, wit, and off topic banter. This show accomplishes that mission as well as almost anyone. The show is largely about friendship and fandom, and Wesseling, a Cincinnati native and estranged Bengals fan, was a large piece of the puzzle that really made the show work. He had an analytical mind and loved to watch the sport so much that he was able to leverage his fandom into a career as a well-respected NFL writer and analyst. I loved to listen to his thoughts and ideas and listen to how his personality blended with the other guys on the crew. But I didn't always see eye to eye with him. One of the biggest parts of his back story is how he got so fed up with the Bengals franchise during their decade-long slump in the 90's that he divorced himself from the team. As a younger fan of the team that also lived through the same era and came out the other side with my fandom still in tact, I just couldn't understand his takes bashing the team. Sometimes I'd have to pause the podcast and take a walk around the house fuming after listening to him revel in their demise over some early round playoff exit or another calamity that occurred where the team found their face in the dirt. Even though I enjoyed and respected his work, I'd be lying if I didn't hold a little resentment towards him. It wasn't until he passed away that I realized my feelings weren't resentment, they were more like regret. The show is great because of the friendships amongst the cast members, but what really makes it special is their friendship with me. I guess I always just thought maybe we could win him back. What if... If only...
Wesseling left behind a loving family. Although he never reconciled with the team, they were a part of him and his wife has taken heart in this improbable mini wave the Bengals have been riding during which she has even taken to dressing their young son in Bengals gear. His podcast mates have pondered aloud recently whether or not this young swashbuckling crew could have won Chris back over to the franchise. The answer is probably not. He would have enjoyed the way they play certainly but he didn't seem like the kind of guy that would reverse his course when he had his mind made up about something. Still, at the risk of sounding overly hokey, I can't help but picture him sitting on a cloud somewhere with John Madden cackling at some of the football we've seen the last few weeks. I don't actually think spirits from above are pulling strings to help the Bengals on their late season charge, but when this much goes right and you're used to it almost always going wrong it's hard for the imagination not to wonder.
We care about sports more than we should. But there’s just something about the team that you love. They can torture you to no end. But when it goes right it brings you up and opens doors of community and bonding like few things can. I didn’t watch the Raiders game live. I waited until it was over and streamed it like I always do. But I didn’t have to watch it to know what happened. When I looked at my phone and found 95 text messages waiting for me from friends and family, I knew. Our teams let us live on a cloud just for a little bit. And when they play we either come crashing down or we stay up there a little while. I will be watching this Chiefs game live.
Here we go Joe. Go win the game.
