Bengals playoff scenarios: What does Cincinnati need to get the wild card?

It is going to take a lot of chaos and then some for the Cincinnati Bengals to make the AFC playoffs. However, getting a fifth victory on the season over the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football was a positive step in the right direction. At 5-8 with only four games left, Cincinnati can only get in as a wild card team this year, as the Pittsburgh Steelers are five games better than then in the AFC North.

According to NFL.com, the Bengals have a three-percent chance to make the AFC playoffs. While it is not all that much better than the Cowboys' less than one-percent chance of getting in, the Bengals are not crossed off just yet either. Entering Week 15, a whopping six AFC teams have already been eliminated: Cleveland, Jacksonville, New York, Tennessee, New England and Las Vegas are all out of it.

So for the sake of breathing life into the impossible, I am going to figure out what needs to happen in the final month of the regular season for the Bengals to get in as a wild card team. The good news for them is all three wild cards spots are up for grabs and are somewhat attainable. Right now, a trio of 8-5 teams occupy the AFC wild card spots in Baltimore, Los Angeles and Denver for what that is worth.

Let's try to figure out what the Bengals need to do to make the AFC playoffs in a real stunning fashion.

What must happen for the Cincinnati Bengals to sneak into the playoffs

There are three teams the Bengals cannot catch in the AFC standings: Kansas City, Buffalo and Pittsburgh. Buffalo and Kansas City have already clinched their divisions, while only Baltimore can catch Pittsburgh in the AFC North with Cleveland having already been eliminated from the postseason. Cincinnati is joined by Indianapolis and Miami as teams not in position, but still in this.

What is very important to understand is the Bengals do not have a quality win under their belt. They have beaten Carolina, the New York Giants, Cleveland, Las Vegas and now Dallas. Only the Panthers and Cowboys are still somewhat alive to make the playoffs in the NFC. Cincinnati has been swept by Baltimore and has a head-to-head loss to the Chargers as well. Is there any hope to still make it in?

Looking at the Bengals' four remaining games, they have winnable ones back-to-back at Tennessee and home vs. Cleveland. For all intents and purposes, those are must wins. From there, they have a home date with Denver before ending the season at Pittsburgh. Finishing the season on a five-game winning streak to end up at 9-8 might be their best opportunity at getting in. The Denver win is key!

See, if the Bengals lost to the Broncos, then they would have lost the head-to-head tiebreaker to Baltimore, Denver and Los Angeles. Keep in mind that Cincinnati does not play Houston, Indianapolis or Miami this year. Having the head-to-head tiebreaker over Denver might be the best, and probably only way, Cincinnati could get in if the Bengals were to drop one more game to finish the year at 8-9.

The only way the Bengals could be eliminated from playoff contention in Week 15 if is they lost to the Titans and Baltimore, Denver and Los Angeles all won. Baltimore is at the Giants. Los Angeles hosts the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Denver hosts Indianapolis. Not that it really matters all that much right now, but a Houston win over Miami would be the icing on the cake of a terrible weekend for Cincinnati.

To maybe make the playoffs, Cincinnati needs to go at least 3-1 with a head-to-head win over Denver.