“The Ravens are by far the most likely AFC North champion at 54 percent, and the Bengals are next at 29 percent,” Walder wrote. “But Cincinnati has a 60 percent chance to reach the playoffs. That makes it the fourth-most-likely playoff team in the AFC after missing the postseason the past two seasons.”

Bengals rookie Shemar Stewart’s holdout and public criticism have exposed deeper issues inside the Bengals organization.

While Cincinnati's Joe Burrow led the NFL in passing yards and touchdowns last season, offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher said that he sees a quarterback that’s looking even better than he did last year.