“They Need to Win This”: Bengals' Path to the Playoffs and Houshmandzadeh's Predictions

Akeem Davis-Gaither #59 and Logan Wilson #55 of the Cincinnati Bengals celebrate after Wilson's fumble recovery in the fourth quarter of a game against the Las Vegas Raiders (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

Former Cincinnati Bengals Pro Bowl wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh still believes his former team is playoff bound. Although the Bengals are 4-5 entering their big road matchup against the 6-3 Baltimore Ravens on Thursday Night Football in Week 10, Houshmandzadeh predicts Cincinnati will end up in the playoffs by the time January rolls around.

"Yes, it's not going to be easy because you still have two games left versus the Steelers," says Houshmandzadeh in a one-on-one interview with RG on behalf of his partnership with Tide. "We believe the Steelers are a good team. We know they're great on defense. We'll never question that, but we have yet to see the Steelers beat a really complete team. We're going to see how they play against the Commanders and moving forward, down the back stretch of the schedule this season. But absolutely, we're making it."

While the Bengals still have to play two games against the 6-2, division-leading Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 12 and 17, they first have to worry about knocking off the 6-3 Ravens. The Ravens previously defeated the Bengals in Cincinnati, 41-38, in overtime after overcoming a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter. Houshmandzadeh expects the Bengals to exact revenge by knocking off the Ravens this week.

Can the Bengals Deliver a Strong Defensive Performance?

"That's easy for me, I'm going to go with my heart and say the Bengals are going to win this," predicts Houshmanzadeh. "They need to win this. They can't fall behind now and be 4-6, they've given away too many games. The Patriots game, the Chiefs game, the first Ravens game. If you want to be a playoff team at some point, you have to beat playoff teams and they have to start Thursday."

Houshmandzadeh says the key for the Bengals to beat the Ravens is making sure their defense plays well from "top to bottom" considering Baltimore is no longer just a run-dominant team. The Ravens feature not only the No. 1-ranked rushing attack, but the third-best passing attack in the NFL with Lamar Jackson enjoying a career year passing the football.

"The key is with Derrick Henry, this dude is a snowball coming down the hill and has 1,000 yards rushing in just nine games," says Houshmandzadeh.

"For me, can they make the Ravens one-dimensional? We almost made them one-dimensional in the first game and Lamar said, 'You're going to make me throw the ball, I'm going to beat you throwing.' I don't know if that's a good thing. It used to be that forcing the Ravens and Lamar to throw it gave you a good chance of winning. I don't know if that's the case anymore. The Bengals are going to have to be good top to bottom, they have to stop the run and they have to stop the pass. Because you can no longer say, 'Let's force Lamar to beat us with his arm.'"

Despite their slow start, the Bengals are just one game behind the Denver Broncos for the last wild card spot in the AFC playoffs.  Cincinnati has historically been a team that gets off to slow starts in the Joe Burrow era, previously starting out the 2022 season 2-3 before finishing 12-4 and advancing to the AFC Championship Game. They also began the 2021 season at just 5-4 before making a run to the Super Bowl.

The Bengals are starting to get a little bit of momentum as they enter the midway point of the season, following a 41-24 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 9.  Burrow threw five touchdown passes in the win and Houshmandzadeh was actually just outside of Paycor Stadium celebrating the game with Bengals faithful while tailgating.

"It was different," says Houshmandzadeh of finally celebrating with fans rather than just playing in front of them.

"I've gotten to know some of them along the way since I retired. But to be on the other side of the fence and just talk to them, you see them out here and there, but never prior to a game, never at a tailgate, never in their element. To be on that side, it was good."

Consistency Is Key for the Bengals’ Playoff Hopes

Houshmandzadeh says the Bengals' biggest problem has been the inability to play complementary football. In other words, when the offense plays well, the defense doesn't. When the defensive unit plays well, the offense doesn't do the same.

"When we play a good team – like we will be playing on Thursday night – let's both play well at the same time," says Houshmandzadeh. "Let's not be up by 10 points with less than four minutes left and lose the game. We have to play complimentary football at its best Thursday or everybody will change the channel and not tune in because the game would have been decided early. The players in that locker room in Cincinnati, they know what's on the line."

While Houshmandzadeh is complimentary of the Ravens' versatile offensive attack, he does admit they have their faults. Houshmandzadeh – who played for the Ravens during the 2010 season after playing for the Bengals from 2001 through 2008 – mentions Baltimore's upset losses to woeful teams such as the Las Vegas Raiders and Cleveland Browns.

However, he says that despite the Ravens' up-and-down season, they're still a "threat" to the 8-0 Kansas City Chiefs, who have won back-to-back Super Bowls.

Houshmandzadeh mentions how the Ravens' defensive unit is an issue, which is surprising considering they've historically been a great team on that side of the ball. Since the 2016 season, Baltimore has ranked in the top nine in points allowed every year except for one season. During the 2024 season, they rank 23rd in points and 21st in points allowed.

However, he does mention that the defensive issues have forced Jackson to become a better passer. Jackson currently ranks first in the NFL in passer rating, touchdown percentage and yards per attempt.

"We've never seen – at least in my time – Baltimore is always known for defense," says Houshmandzadeh. " But defensively, they are nowhere near what we've been accustomed to seeing and so that affects them. But it's also forced Lamar to progress, because now they're throwing the ball more than ever, throwing it better than ever and it could be because the defense isn't shutting teams down. They can't just rely on run constantly, so they're forced to throw it more."

While both the Bengals and Ravens have their flaws, they're also very strong teams led by star quarterbacks. We'll see which team ends up emerging with a big win when they play each other on Thursday night.