# What week were Cincinnati Bengals eliminated? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 16, 2002, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-week-were-cincinnati-bengals-eliminated/143037 "2002-12-16T07:03:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![djbdjb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@djbdjb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/djbdjb)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-week-were-cincinnati-bengals-eliminated/143037/1 "2002-12-16T07:03:48Z")
The Bengals opened with 7 losses, won their 8th game, and have now lost 6 games after that. I wonder if anyone has bothered to figure out at what point they were eliminated from the playoffs? Teams have gotten in with an 8-8 record, perhaps even with a 7-9. I would guess there could be some far-fetched possibilities of them entering with a worse record. However, I would guess that 5-11 would not be possible. Does anyone have some software or other analysis that could answer this? ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-week-were-cincinnati-bengals-eliminated/143037/2 "2002-12-16T08:01:12Z")
It would be easier to make the playoffs now since there are four divisions and only four teams in them. Pittsburgh leads the AFC North, but the Steelers’ record is just 8-5-1. I would think that the Lions were the first team eliminated this year because the Packers off to such a good start. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-week-were-cincinnati-bengals-eliminated/143037/3 "2002-12-16T14:17:53Z")
They were eliminted after the 9th loss, when it became impossible for all the teams ahead of them to wind up with equal or worse records, because many of those teams played eachother, and meant it was impossibole for all of them to fall to worse than 9 losses each. Teams have mad the post season at 8-8 records. The Jets did it in the early 90’s or late 80’s at least once. I don’t think 7-9 ever got in. I’m alm,ost certain of that. ---
**Author:** ![aahala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e4f/32.png) [@aahala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aahala)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-week-were-cincinnati-bengals-eliminated/143037/4 "2002-12-16T15:16:47Z")
I believe Cincy was eliminated from the division title after their 10th loss. When Cincy was 1-9, Pittsburgh was 5-4-1,Cleveland 5-5 and Baltimore 4-6. So the Bengals could have finished 7-9 and it was possible the others would not. The Bengals may have been eliminated from both wild-card slots the previous week. There were about a dozen teams in the AFC after ten games with 5-5 or better records. With the remaining schedule, it may not have been possible to get only two non-division winners with 7-9 (or better records) without having a tiebreaker against Cinncinatti. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-week-were-cincinnati-bengals-eliminated/143037/5 "2002-12-16T16:09:38Z")
> [@](#): > > However, I would guess that 5-11 would not be possible. Does anyone have some software or other analysis that could answer this? The worst record that could theoretically make the playoffs (discounting ties) is fairly easy to figure. Suppose that in one 4 team division, every team in the division lost every game outside the division and split the two games with each division rival. You would have 4 teams which would each be 3-13, and one of them would have to be division leader. ---
**Author:** ![knarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@knarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/knarf)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-week-were-cincinnati-bengals-eliminated/143037/6 "2002-12-16T16:34:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BobT \* > \*\*I would think that the Lions were the first team eliminated this year because the Packers off to such a good start. \*\* Until this week, the Lions were ahead of or tied with Chicago and/or Minnnesota all season, so they wouldn’t have been first, or at least not the only one first (well maybe depending on game times or something, but not by week). I think all 3 teams were eliminated when they were tied for 2nd with 3 wins, around week 12 or 13. ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-week-were-cincinnati-bengals-eliminated/143037/7 "2002-12-16T16:54:02Z")
The question isn’t _ **when** _, but [**WHY?**](http://www.savethebengals.com/). 😃 [sup]Or maybe [**WHO?**](http://www.mikebrownsucks.com/links.html)[/sup] ---
**Author:** ![Realhoops](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8dc957/32.png) [@Realhoops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Realhoops)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-week-were-cincinnati-bengals-eliminated/143037/8 "2002-12-16T17:21:34Z")
… if you aren’t looking for “statistical” type answers, the real answer would be that the Bengals were eliminated from this year’s playoffs right around week 1, when everyone else in the league started playing… ---
**Author:** ![SandyHook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dec6dc/32.png) [@SandyHook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SandyHook)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-week-were-cincinnati-bengals-eliminated/143037/9 "2002-12-16T17:34:13Z")
It’s possible to make the playoffs with no wins. Every team in their division would need to tie every divisional game and the division leader tie a game out of the division. The standings would look like this: 0-9-7 0-10-6 0-10-6 0-10-6 Granted, something of a long shot but in these days of parity who knows. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-week-were-cincinnati-bengals-eliminated/143037/10 "2002-12-16T18:03:18Z")
Why insist that the division leader get the outside tie? If they’re all 0-10-6, one of them still has to be the division champion. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-week-were-cincinnati-bengals-eliminated/143037/11 "2002-12-16T18:44:10Z")
Also, the way winning percentages seem to be computed for rankings is that a tie counts as 1/2 a win, so 3-13 and 0-10-6 both yield PCT=.1875 for the rankings, which I would still say is the lowest PCT that can make it into the playoffs. If we actually HAD a case where we had two teams with the same PCT, but ties were involved in one case, I don’t believe that the one that had actually won more games is ranked higher - you go straight to the tie-breaking rules, which is going to give it to the one with the wins, probably. ---
**Author:** ![Bullwinkle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@Bullwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullwinkle)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-week-were-cincinnati-bengals-eliminated/143037/12 "2002-12-16T19:47:12Z")
Probably sometime in July, the first time the offensive line tried to block actual human beings.