Cincinnati Bengals: Five Factors To Help Reach the Playoffs in '09

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The 2008 season was one of those years that the fans and players of the Cincinnati Bengals would like to pretend never happened. Everything that could have gone wrong seemed to go wrong for Carson Palmer and company.

Despite finishing the 2008 season on a three-game winning streak, the Bengals started 1-8-1, causing them to finish with a disappointing 4-11-1 record.

Believe it or not, the city of Cincinnati has high expectations entering the 2009 regular season.They may play in a tough AFC North division, but there is no reason to not believe that this team has what it takes to make the playoffs in January.

Of course, nothing in life comes easy. There are five important factors that will determine whether or not the Bengals will find themselves playing in January or watching from their living room.

1. The Return of a Healthy Carson Palmer

Last season, Bengals starting quarterback Carson Palmer was limited to four games due to an elbow injury. In the four games he played in, he threw for 731 yards, 3 touchdowns and 4 interceptions.

It's obvious Palmer's absence was one of the reasons behind the Bengals' disappointing campaign last season. In three seasons prior to 2008, Palmer led the team to a 26-22 record, throwing for 12,002 yards and 86 touchdowns. In 2005, he led the organization to their  first playoff appearance in 15 years after claiming the AFC North title. 

If Palmer remains healthy, he should help the Bengals improve their record from last season. One fact we learned about the team last season is that Ryan Fitzpatrick is not nearly the same type of quarterback as Palmer is. It's difficult to replace a former Heisman Trophy winner with a former Ivy League standout.

Once again, the Bengals appear to have one of the best offenses in the league on paper. The team may have gone their separate ways with T.J. Houshmandzadeh (who signed with the Seattle Seahawks in the offseason), but they found his replacement by signing Laveranues Coles.

Not to mention many analysts are predicting a break-out season from Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry.

We learned last season how heavily this team relies on Palmer. Last season, the team finished last in the league as far as total offense per game (12.2 points). The previous year, they finished 10th in the league with Palmer at quarterback by averaging 23.8 points per game.

If Palmer can stay healthy, this team has the potential to make a strong case for a playoff position by having one of the best offenses in the league. With all of the weapons they have on offense, it's hard to see them struggle like they did last season.

2. Second-Half and Fourth Quarter Performance

There is a popular phrase in sports about how a game is never over until it's over. Each game in the NFL lasts 60 minutes, meaning no team is determined a winner until that 60 minutes comes to a close (unless overtime is needed of course).

Looking back at the Bengals 2008 season, they appeared to be one of the worst second-half performers in the league. Take a look at the facts:

• In 16 games last season, the Bengals scored 58 total points in the second half of games.
• In six games, the Bengals were scoreless the entire second half.
• In 10  games, the Bengals failed to score a single point in the fourth quarter.

The Bengals may have finished 4-11-1 on the year. However, there were numerous occasions where the Bengals' second-half performance could have won them the game.

In Week Three against the New York Giants, Carson Palmer threw a late touchdown to T.J. Houshmandzadeh with 4:39 left in the game to give the Bengals a 20-16 lead.

Unfortunately, the Bengals appeared to be wearing down on defense as Eli Manning led the Giants down the field before tossing a four-yard strike to tight end Kevin Boss in the end zone with 1:50 left to give the Giants a 23-20 lead.

All of a sudden, a sure upset seemed to turn into another disappointment for the Bengals squad. Even though the Bengals managed to tie the game as time expired after a questionable last couple of play calls by Marvin Lewis, they ended up losing in overtime after John Carney kicked a 22-yard field goal to win the game.

This was only one of many disappointing second-half performances for the Bengals in 2008. In a Week Four game against the Cleveland Browns

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