NFL Heat Check
NFL Heat Check, Cincinnati Bengals 5-0 in Their Last 5
Published
Form is the story the standings tell slowly and the last ten games tell fast. Right now the fast version of NFL is easy to summarize: Cincinnati Bengals are rolling, Miami Dolphins are reeling, and the gap between those two feelings is enormous.
The warm end of the table
Cincinnati Bengals own the league's best recent ledger at 5-0, and the +57 points margin underneath it says the record is earned. Per game the numbers read 25.2 for and 13.8 against, a gap that does not happen by accident across 5 games.
The chase belongs to Buffalo Bills, who have gone 5-0 with a +55 margin of their own.
Baltimore Ravens (4-1) round out the warm end of the ledger.
For scale, the league as a whole is averaging 20.1 points a game over this window, Cincinnati Bengals are clearing that bar by 5.1 a night all on their own.
Who's cold
Miami Dolphins are the cold front. They have gone 0-5 over their last 5, and the -77 margin underneath means the losses have not even been close, roughly 15.4 points a game the wrong way.
Indianapolis Colts are not far behind on the misery index at 0-1-4.
The middle of the table is where the real congestion lives: Kansas City Chiefs (2-1-2) and Seattle Seahawks (2-1-2) are separated by almost nothing, and one good weekend reshuffles the whole neighborhood.
By the numbers
The top of the ledger, at a glance:
| Team | Last 10 | Points +/- |
|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Bengals | 5-0 (5 gm) | +57 |
| Buffalo Bills | 5-0 (5 gm) | +55 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 4-1 (5 gm) | +76 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 4-1 (5 gm) | +66 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 4-1 (5 gm) | +46 |
One more thing
Records fib a little and points margins fib less. When the two columns disagree about a team, trust the margin, it is the slower liar.