The Bengals were at midfield, one touchdown away from winning the first Super Bowl in franchise history. Seven months later, the Jets could essentially end the Tigers’ season in September.
One of last season’s best stories has become a cliché.enduring franchise Accidentally won the AFC Now appears to be the latest victim of a Super Bowl hangover.
For Cincinnati, taking a step back is no surprise. Even with 25-year-old Joe Burrow entering his prime, the Bengals will struggle to emerge from a conference featuring the Bills and Chiefs again. But it looks like the Bengals at least have a chance at defending their AFC Champions League title in the playoffs.
Then the first week ended with an overtime home loss to the Mitch Trubisky-led Steelers. Week 2 ended with a last-second loss to the Cooper Rush-led Cowboys. The Bengals became the first team in the Super Bowl era to lose the first two games of the season for at least one touchdown each.
The Bengals will now try to become the first team since 2018 to make the playoffs after losing their first two games, a feat only 12 of 125 teams have accomplished since 2007 , leading sports betting to make the Bengals the -175 favorites to miss the playoffs. If it does happen, it will be the third time in the past four years that the Super Bowl runner-up has failed to make the playoffs next season.
The Bengals play Sunday’s game at MetLife Stadium with a 5-point favorite.But less than a year ago, the Jets beat the Tigers in New Jersey because Mike White throws for 405 yards and 3 touchdowns in first start of his careerled the Jets to recover from an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter.
“Everyone is frustrated, but we’re not panicking,” Burrow said. “Two games left, we have 15 games left, let’s take a deep breath and relax.
“We’ll be fine. We’re not worried.”
Maybe he should be.
After 70 dismissals last season — the third-highest single-season total in NFL history, including Seven of the Rams in the Super Bowl, tied the record — the Bengals think they’ve fixed their Achilles heel by bringing in four new starters on offense, including veteran center Ted Callas.Burrow was fired 13 times in two games — putting him on track to break David Carr’s single-season record of 76 — and the quarterback started Week 3 Ranked 28th in the league Yards per attempt (6.0) after leading the league last season (8.6).
Burrow has grown accustomed to believing that the best is ahead. He’s just three years away from winning the Heisman Trophy and the national championship, making him the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft. After suffering a season-ending knee injury as a rookie, he returned to lead the Bengals to their first playoff win in 31 years and put his team in the lead with less than 90 seconds left in the Super Bowl.
“We’re a young team and you’d think we’d be back in that situation many times over the next few years,” Burrow said. said after the game. “We take this and let it fuel you throughout our careers.”
But the young and promising core collapsed countless times. Second chances are not written on the stars.
In 1984, 23-year-old Dan Marino had the greatest season ever for a quarterback and appeared in the Super Bowl alone. Over the next five years, the Dolphins earned just one playoff berth. Joe Namath was 25 when he completed his Super Bowl guarantee. He played another playoff game. Ralph Sampson’s knee fell apart after the 1986 NBA Finals. Shaq and Penny split a year after reaching the 1995 NBA Finals. The 2012 Thunder were the second-youngest team in Finals history and have never looked back.
If the Bengals don’t recover this season, they have plenty of time to avoid joining that list. But their unlikely playoffs have raised expectations to a level that Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert and/or Lamar Jackson probably won’t get them to again.
The Bengals are 49 yards from the champ. You won’t be surprised if they never get close.
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Biting an apple for Judge 61?
all eyes Move to Apple TV+.
Aaron Judge failed to tie Roger Maris’ single-season American League home run record Thursday night at Yankee Stadium, going 0 for 2 — including A very loud warning track to the center field – and three steps exist 5-4 over 10 innings over Red Sox. The Yankees secured a playoff berth with the win.
MVP frontrunners will now try to bat Historic 61st home run The year’s best shows on Apple TV+ with declining local audiences.
Friday night’s game — Gerrit Cole vs. Rich Hill at 7:05 p.m. ET — will be available for free on streaming platforms. If you are having trouble signing up, please contact a Gen Z family member.
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a quiet farewell
Oh, and you’ll also need a cable package that includes tennis channels.
Roger Federer won’t get the big goodbye he deserves – kind of a Williams farewell Recently received at the U.S. Open — but the 20-time Grand Slam champion will give fans a chance to say goodbye in London tonight. He will play doubles with Rafael Nadal in the final game of his career Against Americans Francis Stiafo and Jack Sock in the Laver Cup.
“I’m nervous because I haven’t played for a long time,” Federer said this week. “I hope that I can a bit competitive. “
Federer, 41, has not played since his loss in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon last year. He had hoped to revive his career before his troubled right knee forced the Swiss superstar to quietly end his storied career.
“I’m not sure if I can handle it all, but I’ll try,” Federer said.
Much has been said about his artistry, grace and talent, but one of the most unique wrinkles in Federer’s career is that he may be the only player in major sports history to be considered the greatest player the sport has ever seen. His career has only been surpassed – twice! – On the court before his career was over.
(There may be others who qualify, but I spent a long time thinking and researching other cases and no obvious candidates emerged. Babe Ruth reigned long enough, in Ty Cobb (Ty Cobb was considered the greatest man of all time when he retired in 1928, but the Tigers star still received the highest percentage of Hall of Fame votes in Cooperstown’s inaugural class of 1936.)
While Federer is undoubtedly the most popular player in the golden age of tennis, he will have fewer Grand Slam titles in his career than Nadal (22) and Novak Djokovic (21), and in Lost in the record against both opponents. Federer beat Nadal 16-24 (4-10 in Grand Slam) and Djokovic 23-27 (6-11 in Grand Slam).