The Cincinnati Bengals came into the Joe Burrow era believing a long stretch of frustration had finally ended.
Bleacher Report isn’t ready to remove the franchise from the NFL’s list of tortured teams.
B/R’s Brad Gagnon ranked the Bengals No. 9 among the league’s 11 “most cursed” franchises entering the 2026 season, placing Cincinnati alongside teams whose histories are defined by championship droughts and postseason heartbreak.
The ranking mentions a number that captures the Bengals’ history well, and that’s their three Super Bowl losses coming by a combined 12 points.
Cincinnati has been close enough to see a championship repeatedly.
Sadly, it has never finished the job.
Now almost at the start of the 2026 season, have the tables turned?
The Bengals still have one of the league’s best quarterbacks and spent aggressively to fix the defense around him.
If this roster can’t reopen Cincinnati’s Super Bowl window, the Burrow era may look like another painful chapter rather than the one that finally altered the franchise.
Bengals’ Super Bowl History Built on Narrow Misses
GettyINGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 13: Joe Burrow #9 #of the Cincinnati Bengals is sacked against the Los Angles Rams during the Super Bowl at SoFi Stadium on February 13, 2022 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Bleacher Report pointed to more than Cincinnati’s 0-3 record in Super Bowls.
The Bengals lost seven consecutive playoff games from 2005 through 2015, then finally broke through after Burrow arrived.
Cincinnati won five postseason games across the 2021 and 2022 seasons, reaching Super Bowl LVI and returning to the AFC Championship Game one year later.
The Super Bowl run came painfully close to reversing the Bengals luck.
Cincinnati led the Rams in the second half before losing 23-20, extending a championship drought that also includes narrow losses to San Francisco following the 1981 and 1988 seasons.
Since Cincinnati has missed the playoffs in three consecutive seasons and is 24-27 over that stretch, Bleacher Report’s concern now is that the breakthrough may have already passed.
The circumstances have varied.
Burrow missed significant time in 2023 and again in 2025. He missed nine games last season because of a toe injury before returning in late November.
The 2024 season created a different kind of frustration.
Burrow set franchise records with 4,918 passing yards and 43 touchdowns, yet Cincinnati still failed to reach the postseason.
For a franchise whose history is filled with narrow margins, wasting that level of quarterback play only added to the feeling that something always seems to get in the way.
Cincinnati Built 2026 Roster to End the Pattern
GettyCINCINNATI, OHIO – DECEMBER 16: Joe Burrow (R) of the Cincinnati Bengals speaks with head coach Zac Taylor (L) before the game against the Minnesota Vikings at Paycor Stadium on December 16, 2023 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Jeff Dean/Getty Images)
The Bengals didn’t respond to three straight playoff misses by standing still.
Cincinnati traded the No. 10 overall pick to the Giants for three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence and extended him through 2028. The Bengals also added Jonathan Allen and Boye Mafe as part of an extensive defensive overhaul.
The Bengals’ official website described Lawrence as the crux of a major defensive facelift.
Plus, the offense already has a championship-level core, with Burrow under contract through 2029, while Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins give Cincinnati one of the NFL’s most accomplished receiving combinations.
Though the offensive group is healthy now, Bleacher Report questioned whether the defense will improve enough and whether the 2021 run represented the peak of this group.
The Bengals have spent the offseason trying to make that conclusion premature.
In the end, their history explains why the “cursed” label sticks. Three Super Bowls, three close losses and decades of playoff disappointment are tough to put in the rearview mirror.
Let’s see if the current roster gives Cincinnati a legitimate chance to change that dialogue.
Cincinnati Bengals Called One of ‘Most Cursed’ NFL Franchises During Training Camp