5) Marvin Lewis is a good head coach
Say what you will about his playoff record, no bad coach gets their team to the playoffs in five straight years and six of the last seven. Ever since Andy Dalton came into the league, Lewis has coached him into the playoffs. Now, with Dalton out, he has had no trouble getting McCarron acclimated into the NFL.
Much of the Bengals’ team success under Lewis is attributed to his offensive and defensive coordinators. Once Hue Jackson became the offensive coordinator in 2014, the Bengals finished with 10 and 12 wins respectively. He’s helped players like A.J. Green and Tyler Eifert thrive in the league and should be credited with Andy Dalton putting up career numbers in 2015. By the end of the season, the Bengals finished 7th in points per game with 26.2.
Defensive coordinator Paul Guenther was appointed in the same year as Jackson, and he’s changed the look of the defense considerably. In all, the Bengals finished 11th in the league in team defense, with players like Adam Jones and AJ Hawk causing havoc for some of the best offenses in the league.
Before Jackson and Guenther, they had ugly playoff losses against the Texans (twice) and Chargers. With them, they shouldn’t be discouraged that they lost to a better Colts team quarterbacked by Andrew Luck. This is an experienced, and confident, coaching staff that has helped shape one of the most balanced rosters in the league and knows how to execute a winning gameplan.
Next: Running backs