With just six games in the regular season remaining for the Bengals, the team's playoff chances are now seeming ever more elusive for a team that just three seasons ago played in the Super Bowl.

The Cincinnati Bengals are using the bye week to figure out how they can win close games and get out of the 4-7 funk in which they find themselves.

Be careful what you wish for, Cincinnati. It appears that Bengals LB Germaine Pratt is having a pretty boring, and obviously insecure, Week 12 bye week, as the AFC North linebacker is guaranteeing a Week 13 win against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Cincinnati Bengals started their bye week getting some help on Thursday night when the Cleveland Browns upset the Pittsburgh Steelers. Those Steelers were tops in the AFC North and fell to 8-3 with the loss.

It's been three full weeks since the Cincinnati Bengals (4-7) have won a football game, and their next opportunity is against the leader of their own division when the Pittsburgh Steelers (8-3) come to Paycor Stadium next Sunday.

Cincinnati is favored coming off of the bye week. Most major sportsbooks opened the Bengals at a -2.5 betting spread to beat Pittsburgh next weekend and keep playoff hope alive this season. Cincinnati cannot afford another AFC loss and enter this contest 4-7 overall with a 6-5 record against the spread.

Will the Cincinnati Bengals be on the field today in Week 12 of the NFL schedule? Following a loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 11, the Bengals are on a bye week and will return to the field on