To say 2024 has been a miserable season for Ohioâs NFL teams would be putting it mildly. Both the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns entered the season with playoff expectations. Instead, the AFC North rivals are on the outside looking in on the playoff race.
Up until this week, BetOhio.com â along with our best Ohio betting promotions â was tracking the Bengalsâ chances to make the playoffs. Now, after a 34-27 loss Sunday night to the Los Angeles Chargers that played out like a microcosm of this season, weâre changing our focus to see where the 4-7 Bengals might end up in the 2025 NFL Draft order.
In addition, we bring back the 2-8 Browns after we stopped charting their playoff chances a couple of weeks ago.
As part of our Ohio betting sites coverage, we used The Football Database to see what draft pick position teams with 4-7 and 2-8 starts, since the 2019 season, get in the following yearâs draft. We only calculated the first selection position for each team, finding the average and median first-pick positions for the draft in the year following a 4-7 start or a 2-8 start.
Outcome | Draft Position |
Average | 20 |
Median | 11 |
According to Bleacher Report, the Bengals would get the 11th pick if the season ended today. With Cincinnati Bengals playoff chances all but gone, more than a few Bengals fans wouldnât mind if that happened.
In a season of brutal losses for Who Dey Nation, the loss in Los Angeles will sting for years. Down by 21 in the third quarter, Joe Burrow leads a ferocious comeback to tie the score with three touchdowns in less than 12 minutes. Unfortunately, the two missed field goals kept the Bengals from taking the lead, and that allowed the Chargers to score the winning touchdown with 18 seconds left.
Technically, the Bengals still have a chance to make the playoffs, but they are two games back of the Denver Broncos, the current holders of the AFCâs No. 7 seed. In addition, the Bengals would also need to leapfrog the 5-6 Indianapolis Colts and 4-6 Miami Dolphins.
A few Bengals fans may still cling to hope, but the teamâs odds to make the playoffs are now +375 at bet365 Ohio Sportsbook. The odds for them staying home in January are -550. From 2019 to 2023, there were 27 teams that started a season 4-7. Just three made the playoffs, including last season's Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But those Bucs had the benefit of being in a bad division (they won the NFC South at 9-8) and that is not the case for Cincinnati.
The Browns came off their bye Sunday and lost 35-14 to the New Orleans Saints. Cleveland got a 395-yard passing performance from Jameis Winston, who threw for the two scores, and the Browns won the turnover battle 2-0. However, the defense allowed the Saints offense to pick up 214 rushing yards on just 28 carries, and the Browns only converted on 3-of-13 third-down plays.
Sundayâs loss in New Orleans marked the ninth time in their 10 games that the Browns failed to score 20 points in a game, a large part of why Cleveland Browns playoff chances are something that will have to wait for 2025. The 162 points the team has scored the season are the second-lowest in the NFL. Only the New York Giants (156 points) are keeping the Browns from being the worst offense in the league.
If thereâs good news for Cleveland, itâs that the team is in the running for the top pick in next Aprilâs draft, as The Football Database numbers show. Currently, Bleacher Report shows the Browns are projected to get the third pick.
Could Cleveland lose its way to the top and get the No. 1 pick for the first time since 2018? Oddsmakers at Caesars Ohio Sportsbook have set the Brownsâ season win total at 3.5. The over is a slight favorite at -145 against the under at +115.
USA Today photo by Scott Galvin
Author
Steve is an accomplished, award-winning reporter with more than 20 years of experience covering gaming, sports, politics and business. He has written for the Associated Press, Reuters, The Louisville Courier Journal, The Center Square and numerous other publications. Based in Louisville, Ky., Steve has covered the expansion of sports betting in the U.S. and other gaming matters.
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