Stat of the Jay: Bengals Could Enter Rare Air by Finishing Season on 5-Game Win Streak and Still Missing Playoffs

CINCINNATI – If the Cincinnati Bengals can find a way to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday, they will finish the regular season on a five-game winning streak.

It would be the fourth longest win streak to end a season in franchise history.

The Bengals won eight consecutive games to end 2022, seven in a row to close 1970 and six straight to wrap 1973.

Not surprisingly, each of those three teams rode their winning streak into the postseason.

This year’s team could finish with five wins in a row and still miss out on the playoffs.

In the Super Bowl era, there have been 104 teams to end the regular season with a winning streak of at least five games.

And 96 of them made the playoffs – 91.4 percent.

But what about the nine that didn’t?

Was their “too little, too late” run enough to springboard them to great success the following season?

Uh, not quite.

The most recent team to do it was the 2017 San Francisco 49ers, who closed with five wins in a row after a 1-10 start.

The following year, they went 4-12.

Here’s a look at the others.

2005 Dolphins – Six-game streak to end the season 9-7, then went 6-10 in 2006.

1994 Giants – Six-game run to end the year 9-7, then 5-11 in 1995.

1992 Colts – Five game streak, including a win against the Bengals in Week 17, to finish 9-7, then 4-12 in 1993.

1991 49ers – Finally, a success story. They won six straight to finish 10-6 then went 14-2 in 1992 and reached the NFC Championship Game.

1989 Lions – Won five in a row to finish 7-9, then followed that with a 6-10 mark in 1990.

1989 Redskins – Won five in a row to finish 10-6 and just miss the playoffs on a tiebreaker, then they went 10-6 again in 1990 and made the playoffs, winning in the Wildcard round before falling in a divisional game.

1986 Seahawks – Won five in a row to finish 10-6, then went 9-6 in the strike-affected 1987 team to a wildcard berth, which they lost.

1974 Jets – After a 1-7 start, they won six straight to get to 7-7 before going 3-11 in 1975.

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