Cincinnati Bengals or Detroit Lions: Which Will Win First?

What do the Detroit Lions and the Cincinnati Bengals have in common? Both teams have yet to record their first win of the 2008 season.

Each week, it seems as if both teams have a chance at recording their first victory. But every time Lions or Bengals fans think their team is finally going to come through, the opposing team ends up winning.

The two teams have more in common besides a defeated record. At the beginning of the season, both teams had starting quarterbacks and receivers that could be dangerous for opposing defenses.

In his first two seasons with the Lions, Jon Kitna passed for over 4,000 yards, each season. With a duo of Calvin Johnson and Roy Williams at the wide-receiver position, it seemed like the Lions' offense had the potential to give opposing defenses a headache.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

After the first seven games, the Lions are winless, Dan Orlovsky is the starting quarterback since Kitna is out for the season, and Williams is now with the Dallas Cowboys.

The same can be said about the Cincinnati Bengals. With a Pro Bowl quarterback in Carson Palmer and two Pro Bowl receivers in Chad Ocho Cinco and T.J. Houshmandzadeh, one would think the Bengals would have one of the best offenses in the league.

Instead, the Bengals offense has continued through their first eight games of the season and it doesn't appear to be getting better any time soon.

Palmer appears to be out for the remainder of the season with an elbow injury, and the Bengals' backup quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick has struggled as a starter through four games.

The Bengals' offense has only recorded seven touchdowns total this season. With an 0-8 record, that means the offense is averaging less than one touchdown a game. That's pretty sad for an offense with three former Pro Bowlers.

So, the big question each week is when are the Lions or Bengals going to FINALLY win their first game? Well, I have a different question on my mind.

Who is going to end up recording their first victory of the season first: the Lions or the Bengals? Both teams have their backup quarterbacks starting for the remainder of the season. Let's take a look at which team is most likely to win first.

The Lions have had a season they would like to forget. In fact, they have a few seasons lately that I'm sure the organization and their fans would like to forget. The worst part is the Lions still have nine games to play.

Matt Millen was finally dismissed as general manager after posting a 31-84 record during his reign. He's made decisions over the years that have done nothing to help the franchise.

The Bengals are in a similar situation. Many fans want General Manager Mike Brown to step down, since he has one of the worst winning percentage for team owner's in the history of professional sports (.346). There have also been rumors about a possible walk out for fans during the Bengals' home game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Brown has made decisions over his reign as Bengals owner that has made fans question him. A lot of fans still wonder about the release of troublemaking wide receiver Chris Henry, only to re-sign him before the start of the 2008 season.

When we look at the schedule for both teams for the remainder of the season, it doesn't look good for either team.

In the month of November, the Lions play Chicago, Jacksonville, Carolina, Tampa Bay, and Tennessee. Each of these teams have solid defenses that will make it difficult for the Lions to score points.

The Bengals have to play Jacksonville, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore in the month of November. Just like the Lions, the Bengals are playing teams all with solid defenses this year.

Over the last three weeks, the Lions have only lost games by one possession. They have been able to make it a close game against Minnesota, Houston, and Washington. Not to mention the two-point loss to the Vikings could have been prevented if Orlovsky realized he was running out of bounds in the end zone when he was called for the safety.

The same can be same about the Bengals. Over the last three weeks, the Bengals have trailed by one possession at halftime, making us think that they are going to put up a battle in the second half.

Unfortunately, the Bengals never showed up to play in the second half the last three weeks, getting annihilated each time.

So which team has the edge to record their first win of the season? As bad as it sounds, I don't see the Lions having a chance of winning until at least the first week of December, when they play the Minnesota Vikings. They were able to give them a battle the first time they played this season. If a few calls had gone differently at the end of the game, the Lions may have won that game.

For some reason, the Bengals seem to play well against teams in the NFC East. They put up quite the battle against the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants earlier this season. But then again, that was when Carson Palmer was quarterback.

The Bengals play the Eagles on Nov. 16. The Eagles have shown us how dangerous they are when Brian Westbrook is healthy. With Ryan Fitzpatrick starting at quarterback, I don't see the Bengals competing much with this NFC East team.

In four games this season, Fitzpatrick's highest passing total has been 164 yards against Pittsburgh. This is a sad statistic, considering he's had Chad and T.J. at wide receiver.

This has to be one of the toughest decisions to make this 2008 season. Both teams have struggled so bad and have a tough upcoming schedule, how can you choose who wins first?

After analyzing both teams and discussing with some fellow sports fans (or we could just call them my housemates), I have to go with the Detroit Lions being the first of the two teams to record a win.

The Lions have been so close over the last few weeks that you know they can smell a win in front of them. They were even winning at halftime against a Washington Redskins squad that has shown the league they are Super Bowl contenders. 

One of the main problems with the Bengals this season is their performance in the second half. In each of the Bengals' eight games this season (besides Dallas), they have kept the game within single digits going into the second half.

The second half is where they seem to struggle the most. If the Bengals can find a way to play consistent throughout the game, they should have a win or two by the end of the season.

The great part about the NFL is that on any given Sunday, any team can come through and shock the league with an upset. I would be shocked to see either of these teams go 0-16 for the entire season. They will get their first win at some point in the season; it's just a matter of time.