2017 Cincinnati Bengals Season Win Total Picks

2016 Record: 6-9-1

2017 Las Vegas Season Win Total: 8.5

2017 Season Win Total Prediction: 'Under'

Following one of the most successful five-year runs in franchise history, the Bengals had the rug pulled out from under their feet last season as they stumbled to 6-9-1. That snapped a streak of five straight postseason appearances. And if there wasn't a target on 14-year head coach Marvin Lewis's back prior to last year, there has to be one on him heading into this campaign.

Lewis, and oft-criticized quarterback Andy Dalton, for that matter, have shouldered most of the blame for the Bengals failing to win a playoff game this decade. However, does anyone else remember what a debacle this franchise was in the decade prior to their arrivals? They were basically the Browns! In some ways I think these two don't get enough credit for their consistency, even if they are only consistently just-better-than-average.

Cincinnati's problem has been that they've become victims of their own success. There has been a steady talent drain over the last three years, both from the coaching ranks and on the roster, and the front office hasn't done enough to keep up. And as I look at this year's squad I still feel like they lost more than they gained this offseason.

Offensively, their line is a ticking time bomb. They let their best two starters walk and are trying to fill the gaps with way-past-his-prime Andre Smith (whom they had let walk last year) and potential busts Cedric Ogbuehi and Jake Fisher, their first two picks in the 2015 draft. If the line crumbles then the Bengals running game is going to fall apart again. And the Bengals passing game simply doesn't have the weapons (and Dalton doesn't have the mobility) to consistently perform without steady play at the point of attack. A.J. Green can only do so much.

Defensively, the front four is another year older. The linebackers are mediocre at best. The secondary is still pretty solid. But the entire defense suffers from a severe lack of depth after letting several veteran leaders walk this spring. Last year's defense finished outside the Top 10 in yards allowed for the third straight year. And after two straight seasons of fortuitous defensive yards per point numbers, I won't be surprised if this unit regresses even further.

Cincinnati has an unrelenting schedule. They open the year with a crucial home game against Baltimore. Then they have to play Houston the following Thursday on a short week before heading to Green Bay in Week 3. The Bengals have a midseason stretch of four road games in five weeks (including three in a row). And they close the year with two of three on the road against Minnesota and Baltimore. Other than the games against the Browns, there's not a lot of gimmes here.

The Bengals are stuck in neutral. This team simply isn't as good as it was three years ago. This isn't a bad team by any stretch of the imagination, and I can't see them bottoming out to anything worse than last year's record. But I also think they are the third-best team in this division, and I don't see them making it over .500. I would play this one 'under'.

Bengals Regular Season Schedule (All times Eastern)

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