The Denver Broncos visit the Cincinnati Bengals this week and it looks to be a matchup of serious contenders in the AFC. The Broncos and Bengals have great talent up and down their rosters. Both defenses are very talented and both offenses are flooded with great talent at the skill positions. The difference between these two teams is that one organization understands how to win championships and the other organization does not.
Marvin Lewis has certainly done a solid job turning Cincinnati into a relevant part of the NFL again. The Bengals were awful before Lewis and have managed to make the playoffs seven times since Lewis took over in 2003. The problem is Cincinnati is 0-7 in those playoff games, including early exits in the past five seasons.
The Bengals have been expected to take the next step for many seasons now. Yet, the organization for whatever reason is content to settle with mediocrity. The Bengals seem to refuse to move on from Lewis and it just may be what is costing this team a real run at a title. It does not matter how the Bengals lose in the postseason, Lewis is always safe and seems to find new ways to lose a playoff game the following season.
Denver will not settle for mediocrity, even during winning seasons. Take John Fox, for example. All he did was do one of the best coaching jobs off all time in 2011, getting Tim Tebow and the Broncos to the divisional round of the playoffs. In addition, Fox coached the Broncos to first-round byes in three straight seasons, including a Super Bowl appearance and was still let go. The result of the Broncos wanting more was the hire of Gary Kubiak and a third ring for the organization.
The fact of the matter is the Bengals are too timid to make a coaching move to better their organization. Cincinnati is too scared to part ways with the only guy who has led the Bengals to any type of success since the Sam Wyche days. It is the reason Cincinnati cannot get that elusive playoff win they have been craving so badly.
Denver would never settle for this type of mediocrity. This town would blow its top if it went to the playoffs five straight seasons without one victory. This is simply a case of two cities with two totally different expectations regarding their football teams. The Bengals organization wants to avoid picking first in the NFL draft, while the Broncos organization cannot stomach the thought of another team winning the division from them.
The Bengals and Broncos are two very good NFL teams with two very different ways of going about achieving expectations. By the way, I have Denver winning on Sunday 19-16.
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