NFL: Washington Commanders on the trail of the Cincinnati Bengals

Eerie parallels can be seen between today’s Washington Commanders and the past Cincinnati Bengals.

The Washington Commanders are the team of the hour in the NFL. Ahead of the NFC Championship game against the Philadelphia Eagles, the franchise can hardly escape positive reports, unlike in previous years.

But somehow, various storylines sound familiar. And there is a reason for that. Because the current Commanders show incredible parallels to another team. It’s about the Cincinnati Bengals from 2021. We’ll show you the biggest similarities.

Commanders In 2024, the Bengals will be 2021 2.0

Let’s start with rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, who could make it to the Super Bowl in his debut season. He would be the first rookie quarterback in history to achieve this. Joe Burrow did it in his second season with the Bengals. He was injured for a long time in his first season.

Both are graduates of LSU. Both won the Heisman Trophy there. Both even have their birthdays in December and are therefore Sagittarius. These are the parallels between the playmakers of both teams. But there is more.

Both teams only managed four wins the year before. So Commanders in 2023 and Bengals in 2020. Both teams (2024 and 2021) started their season 7-5. And were 4-2 in their division. The point difference was also almost identical. The Commanders come in at +94 in 2024, the Bengals at +84 in 2021. Both have/had a top 10 offense (Commanders 24th place five, Bengals 21st place seven), but a below-average defense (Commanders 24th place 18, Bengals 21st place 17).

The odds in the respective preseason for the Super Bowl were the same (+15000), as were the odds for “more or less than seven wins”.

Comparison is creepily similar

Both teams played and won against a pirate-like franchise in the Wild Card Round. The Bengals against the Raiders and the Commanders against the Buccaneers. Both teams had overcome a very long dry spell since their last playoff victory with this win.

And it goes even further. Both teams beat the favorites in the Divisional Round, with the Commanders beating the Lions and the Bengals beating the Titans on the road. The Lions, like the Titans back then, were the first seed in the conference.

Finally, in the 2021 NFL season, the Bengals, like the Commanders now, had to play the actual second seed of the conference on the road in the Conference Championship Game. In addition, just a few weeks earlier, both teams had beaten their championship opponents by just three (!) points in the regular season. The Bengals beat the Chiefs 34-31 and the Commanders beat the Eagles 36-33.

Creepy, isn’t it? Based on that, the outcome of the Washington Commanders’ game against the Philadelphia Eagles should be obvious. But in the Super Bowl, there would have to be a defeat. Because the Bengals lost to the Los Angeles Rams back then.

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2 weeks ago
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