Why Broncos lost on Thursday was more favorable for Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals find themselves in a must-win situation on Sunday against the Cleveland Browns. If they don’t, they will be eliminated from the playoffs with two games left in the season.

The Bengals also need help elsewhere to sneak into the playoffs. Part of that help going into the week was needing the loser of Thursday’s game between the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers to then lose their last two games.

From a mathematical perspective, it didn’t matter which team lost. But if there was one favored team to lose on Thursday, it was the Broncos. Luckily for the Bengals, that scenario played out in LA on Thursday

The Bengals now have a chance to at least control their fate toward a playoff scenario in Week 18 by winning their next two games. That’s because the Broncos are coming to town on Saturday.

The Bengals also need the Colts and Dolphins to lose a game each, but even if they both win their next two, the Bengals would still be alive heading into Week 18 with wins over the Browns and Broncos.

If the Chargers had lost, the road would have been much tougher for the Bengals. They would rely on the 3-11 New England Patriots and 2-12 Las Vegas Raiders to both beat the Chargers in the last two weeks.

Bengals fans would definitely go with the first option with the Broncos.

The Broncos close the season against the Chiefs, who could potentially have the No. 1 seed locked up by then. One more win or one Bills loss will secure Kansas City.

While the Patriots are unlikely to beat the Bills on Sunday, the Chiefs can wrap it up by Christmas if they beat the Steelers. If the Chiefs get the bye, they can rest their starters against Denver. Not what the Bengals want to see.

Still, that whole scenario is more plausible than the Patriots and Raiders both beating the Chargers. The Chargers would clinch a playoff spot on Sunday if both the Colts and Dolphins lose, but they likely wouldn’t rest their starters for two weeks in a row.

Ultimately, the Bengals have to take care of their own business after missed opportunities all season long. But they’re not done yet, and their chances were helped, even if only a little, by Jim Harbaugh and the Chargers on Thursday.