Cincinnati Bengals ceiling and floor for 2023

The Cincinnati Bengals have high aspirations in 2023 after making back-to-back AFC title games and a Super Bowl appearance over the past two seasons. The Bengals are favored to win the AFC North, per OddsChecker, but the Browns, Ravens and Steelers seemed to get better this offseason and could provide stiffer-than-expected competition. 

Here's our prediction for the best- and worst-case scenarios for the Bengals this season.

Ceiling: 14-3

Cincinnati struggled early in 2022, but it won 10 straight games en route to its second straight AFC Championship Game appearance. The Bengals didn't have a ton of roster turnover in the offseason, but they made solid moves by signing free-agent left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. and filling TE Hayden Hurst's void with Irv Smith Jr.

Another year with QB Joe Burrow and wide receivers Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd is all the offense really needs to get going.

Like 2022, Cincinnati has a favorable schedule, the 17th-most difficult in the NFL. The Bengals should be heavily favored in Week 3 vs. the Rams, Week 4 vs. the Titans, Week 5 vs. the Cardinals, Week 10 vs. the Texans and Week 14 vs. the Colts. Cincinnati finished 3-3 in the division in 2022. If it can get one or two more wins in the North in 2023, the Bengals will be on their way to another stellar season. (Complete schedule analysis here).

Floor: 9-8

It feels like the only thing that can hold the Bengals back in 2023 are injuries. There are also a few concerns about the defense. In the offseason, Cincinnati lost both its starting safeties (Jessie Bates III to the Falcons and Vonn Bell to the Panthers), which may make the team vulnerable on the back end.

It's difficult to predict how the AFC North will play out. Each team went 3-3 in the division in 2022, and if the Bengals finish with the same record or worse in 2023, it's unlikely they'll repeat as division champs.

Cincinnati faces some of the league's best, including the 49ers (Week 8), Bills (Week 9) and Chiefs (Week 17). If the Bengals opens like they did in 2022, 2023 may not be as great as some expect.