The Cincinnati Bengals held serve with an ugly 34-13 win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday night. That's not good news for the playoff chances of the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Jets, but it's hardly devastating.
The winner of next week's Bengals-Steelers game in Pittsburgh will have the big edge for the AFC's No. 6 playoff seed. That was true before Thursday night, and this result doesn't change the playoff picture that much.
The Steelers' margin for error has decreased, though. If Pittsburgh loses to the Dallas Cowboysthis week, the Bengals will have a chance to knock the Steelers out of the playoff mix next week.
We read from a few panicky Jets fans on Twitter that their team now is out of the playoff race. That's not true. They still could get in at 9-7 with some help from the Bengals and others. It's a long shot, but it's been a long shot ever since Darrelle Revisgot hurt.
Statement Sunday can't come soon enough.
Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.
