2026 Bengals One Of Five Teams Compared to Reigning NFL Champion Seahawks

NFL.com's Tom Blair canvassed the NFL to try to find another plausible dark horse Super Bowl candidate, like the reigning champion Seahawks, and the Bengals just made the cut. Cincinnati checked in at No. 5 on his list, meeting a few different criteria measures.

He broke down his formula below.

To be eligible, teams had to meet two basic criteria:

I would not do a double-take if they made the playoffs.
I would do a double-take, or maybe even a spit-take, if they won 14-plus games and coasted to victory in Super Bowl LXI.

I also looked for common threads with the Seahawks' build-up to glory, evaluating each team by the following factors:

Their starting QBs' "Sam Darnold Score," a 1-10 scale representing how much the QB has to prove himself.
Whether the team has a unit as dominant as Seattle's "Dark Side" defense.
The presence of a Seahawks-ian player on the roster, which is to say, a savvy veteran addition, a breakout-bound development project, or a smartly drafted potential rookie contributor.

Fit The Mold

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) walks off the field after being sacked by Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald (99) in the fourth quarter during Super Bowl 56, Sunday, Feb. 6, 2022, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif. The Cincinnati Bengals lost, 23-20. Nfl Super Bowl 56 Los Angeles Rams Vs Cincinnati Bengals Feb 13 2022 0014 | Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Bengals clearly don't have anything to prove at the quarterback position, outside of keeping Joe Burrow healthy.

"When it comes to realizing individual potential, the first six years of Burrow's career were basically the polar opposite of Darnold's," Blair wrote. "Health has been a persistent challenge, but the most pressing question at this point is whether the team around Burrow can reach the minimum performance level to let him drive another Super Bowl run."

They also have that dominant offense to mirror Seattle's great 2025 defense, while Dexter Lawrence is the added building block.

"Cincinnati's offense is led by three players (Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins) who can, at any point, qualify as one of the best in the league at their position. The defense surrendered more yards (6,475) and points (492) than most offenses could compensate for, let alone one that was without Burrow for nine games. If that D can move closer to league-average performance, Burrow and Co. could really put something together.

"This is a bit of a projection, given that Lawrence was only acquired by Cincinnati in early April, but, like Seattle's trade for Williams, this is less of a no-doubt home run than a reasonable swing on an established veteran in need of a fresh start. If Lawrence successfully transforms the defense, he could help change the complexion of the AFC."

Cincinnati realistically needs to just keep Burrow healthy and field a top-20 scoring defense to be in position for a division title and potentially the conference's No. 1 seed. It's a flawed way to look at schedule strength, but it doesn't hurt that Cincinnati's 2026 opponents had a 45% win rate last season (30th in the NFL).

The organization is primed to have a special stretch coming up, if the stars stay healthy. Check out the full list from Blair here.

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