There is no doubt that the Cincinnati Bengals are planning on making a push for the playoffs and ultimately the Super Bowl in 2026. That’s after an offseason of boosting the defense and looking to put the best possible team around quarterback Joe Burrow.
With the season now just a few months from kicking off again, ESPN released its FPI, or Football Power Index, rankings. An advanced analytic that looks to predict future outcomes, it was also able to share some updated odds on the Super Bowl.
FPI is giving the Bengals the 11th-best chance to win the Super Bowl. That’s at a 4.0% chance. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Rams have the best odds overall, at a 14.9% chance. The only other team with double-digit odds to win it all is the Buffalo Bills.
Notably, the Baltimore Ravens are still considered the top dog in the AFC North by FPI. They have a 9.4% chance to win it all, which is third-best in the NFL. Then, the defending AFC Champions, the New England Patriots, are behind the Bengals with the 14th-best odds to win the Super Bowl, at 2.7% overall.
Potential Super Bowl Matchups for the Cincinnati Bengals
GettyCincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow evades pressure in the Super Bowl
FPI is far from promising anything to the Cincinnati Bengals next season. That 4.0% chance to win the Super Bowl puts them in the top half of the NFL, but it’s also no promise. Still, compared to the average team, it’s a good position to be in, and FPI even included some potential Super Bowl matchups that could include the Bengals.
The most likely of those matchups is the Bengals taking on the Rams, which has a 2.0% chance of happening, according to FPI. That’s considered the ninth-most probable matchup for the Super Bowl in all of the NFL.
That, of course, would be a rematch of the last time the Bengals managed to make it to the Super Bowl. Back in February of 2022, Los Angeles would beat Cincinnati 23-20 in a thriller. For the Bengals, it was their third time in the Super Bowl and their third time losing it.
For his part, Joe Burrow played well, completing 22 of 33 passes for 263 yards and a touchdown. However, he was sacked seven times. Tee Higgins, meanwhile, caught two touchdown passes, with one of them being thrown by running back Joe Mixon. Still, it wasn’t enough, and the Bengals are still looking to exorcise those demons.
Bengals Stars Have Set Super Bowl Expectations for 2026
GettyCincinnati Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase
If there was any doubt where the Bengals had their sights set in 2026, the team’s best players have been putting them to an end. Stars like Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase have both set the expectations for Cincinnati at the Super Bowl this season.
“I think this is the most talented roster that we’ve had since I’ve been here,” Burrow said before calling the roster the most talented he’s had since landing with the Bengals. “We’re going to go win a lot of games this year and play great and win a Super Bowl.”
Chase recently added to that, too. Like Burrow, he’d emphasize that the new talent on the Bengals’ roster is key to why he’s so excited for the season.
“At the end of the day, we got to the Super Bowl in ’21 and never went back,” Chase said. “So, expectations have always been high since 2021. But now that we have improved our defense a little more, the expectations have gone up for the defense to show us what they could do. The moves they made are showing us they want to be with us, too. They want to push us and help us be at the next level where we know we could be at, that we know we needed.”
By no means will it be easy for the Bengals to win the Super Bowl. However, it’s getting harder and harder to call Cincinnati a dark horse. Instead, they may just be a popular pick.
Bengals Get Updated Super Bowl Odds, Potential Matchup, from ESPN’s FPI