Everyone was ignoring the Cincinnati Bengals as they came into the 2022 NFL season as defending AFC champions.
While they took the Los Angeles Rams to the limit in Super Bowl 56, most people felt it was a fluke.
Fans and NFL analysts didn’t see the Bengals as Super Bowl contenders for the new NFL season.
When the team got off to a 0-2 start, these fans and analysts felt they were justified by ignoring the Bengals.
However, the team now finds themselves in the AFC Championship Game yet again.
Their comeback from a slow start now puts them in an exclusive club.
Don't count out a slow start to the season 👀 pic.twitter.com/SiB8IaexBW
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) January 24, 2023
They become the seventh team to reach a conference championship game after an 0-2 start to the season.
It’s also only the eighth time in NFL history where such a feat has been accomplished by a team.
While others had doubts about Joe Burrow and his team, they now prove their doubters wrong.
The team who few saw as a legitimate threat in the NFL is one game away from a Super Bowl repeat.
Their road to the AFC Championship Game wasn’t easy, as they have defeated other teams who are Super Bowl favorites.
They defeated the Buffalo Bills to reach the championship game, a team who was the favorite to reach Super Bowl 57.
However, they also beat the Kansas City Chiefs during the regular season.
With them as their next opponent, they face a familiar foe.
They now rest on the doorstep of greatness, as their next game can make them a repeat champion of the AFC.
