Early look at the Detroit Lions 2017 opponents: Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals finished out of the playoffs for the first time since 2010 last season. The 2017 roster has been retooled to fill gaps left by players like Marvin Jones, now of the Detroit Lions.

The Bengals are one of the teams often held up by Matthew Stafford‘s detractors as an example of how easy it was for the Bengals to move on from Carson Palmer. While it is true that the team did enjoy a little bit of salary cap space as a benefit of making that move, one need only look at the rest of the 2011 draft class of quarterbacks to run from the idea screaming. Yes, the Bengals got their guy at 35 overall, but he was the fourth quarterback off the board.

The Panthers selected Cam Newton with the first pick, and by the end of the first round Jake Locker, Blaine Gabbert, and Christian Ponder had all gone. Colin Kaepernick went one pick after Andy Dalton. Of the five, only two remain with the teams that drafted them. Andy Dalton, one of the NFL’s success stories for teams looking to replace an established quarterback, is now regarded as the line below which a quarterback should lose his job, and above which is safe.

The Bengals did not think their team would advance beyond the wildcard round of the playoffs with Carson Palmer at the helm and thus moved on. They have not advanced past the wild card round with their new quarterback either. Prior to a few weeks ago I would have said that the Bengals were the third best team in the division. With the hex someone in Cleveland must have put on the Ravens, It looks like the Bengals are in a two team race for the division title.  The Bengals have offensive weapons galore, and a stout defensive group.

It will be interesting to see how many of their young players develop, as that will likely be the key to improving on their results from last season. Here is how they match up against the Detroit Lions.