The Bengals spread is Bengals -2.5.  Homefield advantage is 3 points.  So, take away homefield advantage and the Jets are favored to win by .5 points.  I'm not exactly sure how a team can win by .5, maybe there is a new rule that I don't know about yet... like a new kind of field goal where the kicker throws the ball through the uprights and if he makes it, it counts at 1.5 points instead of 3.  Either way, that doesn't matter.

What does matter is that the Bengals are slowly becoming the home underdogs in a playoff game, and I for one, am happy about it.  You always bet for the home underdog (unless the unlikely event that the Bengals travel to Harrison High School to play the Wildcats.... in that case you should still probably pick the Bengals) because they win more often that not.  Maybe it's the smack in the face to know that you're the underdog in your own house.  Maybe it's the visiting team being too confident in the fact that they are going to win so they slack off a little bit.  Maybe Tony Danza always plays for the home team and he has some form or terminal illness and Christopher Lloyd, an angel (bare with me), helps the home team win the game because there is a little boy named Roger in the stands who can see them and flaps his arms like he has.... wait for it..... angel wings.  I'm not sure what the reason is (I like to pretend it's the last one) but the fact is, the home underdog wins a lot.  Especially in prime time games like Monday Night Football or.... wait for it again.... home playoff games. 

I for one am placing bets on the Bengals to win and I plan to make some extra drinking money for Saturday night.  Let's go Doc Brown..... do your thing.

Just pretend it's a field goal post.

Hello Bengal fans. You should be ashamed of yourselves.  Not all of you, no.  Some of you are proud fans, ready for this weekend, excited to root on your Bengals to their first playoff win in a long time.  I am talking about you other Bengal fans.  You know, the ones who are talking about the offseason, selling their playoff tickets and worrying about the draft. This is a playoff week.  Bigger than Steeler week and Ravens week combined.

The Bengals were 4-11 and 1 last season.  Are now 10 and 6, AFC North Champions and in the playoffs for the second time in 19 years. If I would have asked you at the end of last season if that would make you happy, everyone of you would have said yes. All season you have been complaining and waiting for the other shoe to drop.  It never did.  You blast the Bengals front office, coaches and players all the while claiming to be bigger fans than those that actually attend the games.  You hide behind a cry for change all the while secretly hoping the Bengals falter so you can say you were right.  You claim to root for the Bengals all the while trying to create sustained success.

I call Bullshit.

Look, I am all for making the Bengals great, but there is a time and place. This is not the week to stress about Zimmers Deal.  This is not the time to worry about who the Bengals should draft next year.  This is not the time for jumping ship.  Besides, some of you football minds are claiming the Bengals should draft Tony Pike and Mardy Gilyard. (I have a ton of confidence in the football minds of these people)  This is not a dig on the WhoDeyRevolution.  While they are the face of this type of "fan", they are not the sole culprits.  There are these types of "fans" littering the net.

As bad as you think the Bengals can be, they are currently the envy of 20 other NFL teams. 1060 NFL players will be sitting on their own couches watching the Bengals extend their season.  Let them worry about the draft and contracts and the like. You see, Bengal fans are used to worrying about that because most seasons that is all there is to look forward to.  Right now, the Bengals are one of 12 teams who have the opportunity to play for an NFL championship. Did the Steelers in 2005 worry about contracts or who they were going to draft in next years draft?  Nope, they played their one game seasons all the way to a Super Bowl ring.

Everyone knows the Bengals play the Jets in a one game season that starts and ends this Saturday afternoon.  The focus should be on the Bengals, how they are going to win, how they will stop the jets and what the hell is wrong with the sanchise. (picture below).

Seriously, you cry for a playoff team and get it and then you continue to cry.

If you read player interviews from the Jets or read what the Jet fans are saying, the New Jersey Jets are super bowl bound. For example, check out the quote from their own idiot head coach (who a couple weeks ago talked to the media about how the Jets were eliminated from the post season)

During his daily news conference Wednesday, Ryan was asked what his reaction was to being the team with the longest odds — currently at 50-1 — to win the championship.
“I wasn’t aware of that,” Ryan said, “but to me, we should be favorites, so that’s fine.”
Ryan then was asked to clarify if he meant the Jets should be favored to beat the Bengals in Saturday’s AFC wild-card playoff game in Cincinnati.
“I mean in the whole tournament,” he said. “You know the way that I feel.”

What an idiot, what reasons do you feel the Jets should be favorites? Because they went 2 and 4 in their own division? Or because the sanchise has thrown 20 interceptions? No wait, is it because the only shot you had to make it was to have the last two teams you played lay down and allow you to sneak in at 9 and 7?

Everyone seems to forget, the Bengals really had nothing to play for on Sunday night. Seriously, I hope the Jets feel like they can come to Cincinnati and have the same kind of success that they had in Jersey.

WhatIfSports.com has the Jets winning against the Bengals this weekend.  They also have picked incorrectly on the Bengals game 7 times. That is about how accurate a coin flip would be. For some reason, this season they have had zero confidence in the Bengals.

KSK on the other hand has a well written article that puts the Jets in their place. By well written, I mean it contains quotes like the following:

Here are a few QBs who had a higher passer rating than this date raping USC Mexahole:

Ryan Fitzpatrick
Marc Bulger
Brady Quinn
Alex Smith

Classic. I will leave you with the YouTube video of your average Jet fan.  WhoDey

The Bengals have just entered a new season of football.  The slate is clean and they have a chance to control their own destiny. At 4:00 on Saturday the Bengals will face the New York Jets. The Jets bring a number 1 defense and an incredible running game to Cincinnati.  So what do the Bengals need to do to win?

Make the Sanchise beat you.

There are two ways you can force the Jets to become one dimensional.  The first is to stuff the run.  However, the Jets run game is the best in the NFL. The other way is to score on offense. Fairly simple, if the Jets are forced to throw to stay in the game this matchup heavily favors the Bengals.

Look, I know what many are saying.  They compare the game last Sunday with what to expect this Sunday. Let them. The Bengals have no track record of how they have handled the games leading to the playoffs because they don't often make the playoffs.  However, I was at the game, there was no fire on the Cincinnati sidelines. The entire stadium knew the Bengals were going to lay down this week.  It should come as no shock when it actually happened.

As a side note, I expected more from the Jets tailgate. Obviously I did not see everyone, but for the tailgaters around us, it is sad that you were outshined by a group of Bengals fans that traveled over 500 miles just to watch their team in a meaningless game.  The most excitement I saw from the Jets fan was the group that would change lyrics to Disney songs to insult Carson Palmer. We were not intimidated by your duraflame fire that you started right on the pavement. The Bengal fans tailgate spirit can be summed up from the picture of Bengal Dave I snapped on my cell phone. (I hope to have more tailgate pictures from this game up shortly)

The Jets may be in for a rude awakening if they think they know how to beat the Bengals after their 37 to 0 ass kicking in New York.  They had a few distinct advantages over the Bengals from the start.  For one, they had their backs to the wall in a win or out situation and teams are always more dangerous when they have to win.  They were also playing in the last game in the place they called home for the last several years.  They were at home for a primetime game and those teams usually win.  They played like they needed the win and the Bengals played like it didn't matter very much.  They had all their starters in while the Bengals sat Benson and a few other players.   Needless to say, the Jets had the upper hand from the beginning. 

This Saturday things will be different though.  The Bengals will be in a win or go home situation, all of the starters will be playing, and they will be in front of a home crowd.  It will be a completely different team that the Jets will be facing.  I think that there are a lot of people in Cincinnati right now who just watched the Bengals lose 37 to 0 to a team that they play the next week and they're thinking that the playoffs are already pretty much over.  I don't think so at all.  I am extremely confident that the Bengals will handle the Jets and then make the trip to Indianapolis.  I for one can't wait to watch the Bengals in a home playoff game.  It's going to be a great weekend.

Whodey.

This time last year, I spun into my deep clinical depression because football season, more specifically the Bengals season was over.  This year, the Bengals have been kind enough to delay the inevitalbe for at least one more week.  I would rather not cry myself to sleep like I do when the season is over for a few more weeks so what do the Bengals need to do to ensure my happyness for a little while longer?  Lose.

That's right, I said it.  Lose.  I absolutely hate watching the Bengals lose games almost as much as I hate the NFL offseason but it could be the best thing for them in the long run.  First let's start off with what we already know.  We know that the Bengals have locked a playoff spot.  We know that whether they win or lose, they get a home playoff game, the only question is who will they play... we'll get to that.  Now let's go to what we can assume.  We can assume that Marvin will play the starters for just a short period of time on Sunday.  There is no point at getting them hurt over a game that technically doesn't matter.  We can assume that the Jets will do everything in their power to win because if they win, they're in the playoffs.  We can also assume that since the Bengals would play the Jets in the playoffs the next week if the Jets win, the Bengals won't show the Jets anything.  It'll just be run, run, pass, punt (wait..... sound familiar?).  Finally, since we assumed that the Bengals will play back ups for most of the game and we assumed that the Jets will do everything they can to win, we can assume that the Bengals do not win this weekend.

Before you throw your computer out of your window, hear me out... the Bengals losing this weekend is not a bad thing.  Sounds weird doesn't it?  If the Bengals lose, they would turn around and host the Jets right away at home in the first round of the playoffs.  I would rather play the Jets with a rookie QB (Leon Hall and Jonathan Joseph could have a field day with Mark Sanchez after being snubbed for the pro bowl) than play the teams that could take the Jets spot if we beat them this weekend.  Some of those teams are the Broncos, Dolphins, Texans, Jaguars, Baltimore and the Steelers.  Personally, I would rather play the Jets than any of those teams.

So, even though watching the Bengals lose is always a bitter pill to swallow, remember that if it happens, it could be a good thing in the long run.  I might be upset about the loss for a couple days but it might keep me from drawing my shades and living in my bed for a little while longer.

UPDATE: The Ravens beat the Raiders which means the Ravens have locked their wildcard spot as the number 5 seed.  In doing so, they eliminated the Steelers from the playoffs due to the fact that the Patriots lost to the Texans... the Steelers needed the Broncos, Ravens, and Jets to lose in order to get in as a wildcard.  If the Bengals win, they would take the number 3 AFC seed and play the Ravens and the Patriots, as the number 4 seed, would play the Texans (since the Broncos lost big today).  If the Bengals lose tonight, they would lock the number 4 overall seed in the AFC and play the Jets and the Patriots, as the number 3 seed, would play the Ravens.

This week we ask our 5 questions to Marc over at theJetPress.com.  Who knows, maybe we will need to think of 5 more questions to ask him next week.

What Scares You About the Bengals?

I'm scared the Jets don't take the Bengals too seriously and lose this game.
The Bengals have a solid D and QB Mark Sanchez needs to keep the Jets in the game by not throwing INTs.
It sounds like a cop out but if Marvin Lewis wants to take a page out of the Colts playbook and rest some starters, please feel free.

What Match-Up Makes You Feel Confident in the Jets?

Jets running game is really good right now. Our offensive line with Thomas Jones and Shonn Greene are pushing teams around

Best Current Jets Player most Bengal Fans have Never Heard Of?

Shonn Greene, RB, rookie

Who Wins the Game and What's the Score?

Jets 24
Bengals 13

If there was a steel cage match instead of a football game featuring one current player, who do you nominate?

Thomas Jones. Have you seen this guy?  scary.

The Bengals just clinched the division. What is a better way to celebrate then to pack our bags and root on our boys when they play this Sunday in the last NFL game in the Meadowlands?  I thought it would be even cooler if the game was flexed so the Bengals could end the season on national TV for a little Sunday Night football.

Done.

WhoDeyFans will be dropping into the big apple this weekend to show jets fans what it is to tailgate. (do you know they only open the lots 5 hours before the game?) We will be meeting up with a ton of other Bengal fans and cheering on the Bengals to one last regular season victory.

If you are in the area and want to grab a beer, let us know. Click the contact link above and we will make it happen.  If you are going to the game and want to join our kick ass tailgate, again, let us know.

WhoDey