Carter Bahns· Sep 21, 2026
Bahns named the Bengals a dark-horse Super Bowl contender on the strength of their retooled defense.
“Through two weeks, everything appears to be coming together for what might be a dark-horse Super Bowl contender.”
published in writing · CBS Sports · read the original →
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- Surprise Team CallsCincinnati BengalsSep 21, 2026
Cincinnati Bengals to beat expectations
“Through two weeks, everything appears to be coming together for what might be a dark-horse Super Bowl contender.”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
What others said about the same people
- Danny ParkinsGame Outcome Picks · Cincinnati BengalsHit · 100Parkins picked the Giants to beat the Rams outright, backed Jacksonville over Denver, Cincinnati over Houston and Chicago over Minnesota in the chips segment, endorsed Buffalo as the AFC's Super Bowl representative, and predicted Deshaun Watson has started his last NFL game.
- Lance ZierleinGame Outcome Picks · Cincinnati BengalsHit · 100He backed off picking Houston, saying that without Nico Collins too much pressure falls on C.J. Stroud and he is worried about the secondary — effectively taking Cincinnati in the game.
- Jonas KnoxGame Outcome Picks · Cincinnati BengalsHit · 100Knox took the Bears to cover against the Vikings, said New England would probably beat Pittsburgh even while taking the points, picked the Bengals to win outright in Houston, and took the Broncos over the Jaguars and the Rams over the Giants.
- Tyler SullivanGame Outcome Picks · Cincinnati BengalsHit · 100A CBS Sports column flags five Week 2 favorites on upset alert, effectively backing the underdogs — Lions at Bills, Bengals at Texans, Jets over Packers, Jaguars at Broncos and Saints at Ravens — to pull off wins.
- Colin CowherdScore Predictions · Cincinnati BengalsClose · 76The co-host (identified only as "Mitchell") gave his own Week 2 picks: Seattle, the Niners in dominant fashion, his Lions over Buffalo, Cincinnati 31-27 at Houston, Chicago, Pittsburgh 24-21 as a road upset, Jacksonville by at least a touchdown, Dallas 26-22, and Kansas City handily.
- John BreechScore Predictions · Cincinnati BengalsClose · 74Breech picks every Week 2 game with scores, takes the Cardinals to upset the Seahawks, sees a Bills-Lions shootout, predicts Baker Mayfield's revenge win over Cleveland, and says the Browns will miss the playoffs while the Dolphins go winless.
More surprise team calls
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
- John BreechSurprise Team Calls · New Orleans SaintsPendingBreech expects Caleb Williams to return quickly from his hamstring injury, at the latest by Week 4 against the Jets or Week 5 against the Packers, and he picked the Rams to beat the Giants on Monday night. He also floated the Saints as a potential surprise team this season.
- Ralph VacchianoSurprise Team Calls · New Orleans SaintsPendingVacchiano says the Saints, whom he had already called the NFC's biggest surprise of the season, are good enough to win the weak NFC South, though not yet a championship contender.
- Gilberto ManzanoSurprise Team Calls · Las Vegas RaidersPendingManzano calls the 2-0 Raiders under first-time head coach Klint Kubiak one of the season's biggest surprise teams and a club now thinking playoffs, sees the 2-0 49ers headed for another winning season, and views New Orleans as the class of the NFC South with Tyler Shough playing well.
- John BreechSurprise Team Calls · New Orleans SaintsPendingGrading Week 2, Breech says the Saints — fresh off upsetting the Ravens in Baltimore — look like a club that could beat expectations this season.
- Nick WrightSurprise Team Calls · Atlanta FalconsPendingWright stuck by his preseason call of a 12-5 Bills team that wins its division, picked the Jaguars to beat Denver outright, leaned Texans over Cincinnati, still has Atlanta as his deep sleeper, counts New England among his 14 playoff teams, and recalled pegging Washington for a 5-12 or 6-11 year with a bottom-six defense.
- Pete PriscoSurprise Team Calls · New York JetsPendingA Week 2 NFL power rankings column places the Seahawks first and the Dolphins last, with the 49ers rising six spots after beating the Rams and the Cowboys falling 12 after losing to the Giants. It also suggests the Cardinals and Jets could be better than expected.