Shutdown Countdown: Bengals try to get over playoff hump ... again

Shutdown Corner is previewing all 32 teams as we get ready for the NFL season, counting down the teams one per day in reverse order of our initial 2015 power rankings. No. 1 will be revealed on Aug. 8, the day before the preseason begins with the Hall of Fame Game in Canton.

NO. 11: CINCINNATI BENGALS

Making the playoffs four straight seasons in the NFL is a tremendous accomplishment.

It's hard. There's too much turnover and there's too much luck involved to assume you can grind out enough wins year after year to qualify for the postseason. The Cincinnati Bengals have won 40 games and tied one over the last four seasons. Before this run, the franchise had never made the playoffs more than twice in a row. Cincinnati once missed the playoffs 14 straight years.

It's a four-year run that should be celebrated to some extent. But we all know it's not, and instead it has become a punch line because of what has happened when the Bengals actually take the field in the playoffs.

[Yahoo Sports Fantasy Football: Sign up and join a league today!]

Cincinnati is 0-4 the past four years in the playoffs. They're 0-5 over the last six seasons. Bengals coach Marvin Lewis is 0-6 in the playoffs, tying Jim Mora for the most losses without a playoff win in NFL history. Instead of Lewis being celebrated for turning a franchise that once was the biggest joke in the league into an annual playoff participant, all that matters is that 0-6.

That's not entirely fair in the small sample size of a one-and-done elimination sport, but that's life. It doesn't help that only one of Lewis' losses have been by less than 10 points.

It's odd that the Bengals seem to be on the edge of something big, just waiting for a little push from behind, and they haven't been aggressive in building the roster. The last big free agent the Bengals signed was probably running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis in 2012. Defensive end Michael Johnson probably qualifies too, as he was brought back after leaving for a really bad year in Tampa Bay last season. But this isn't a team that has done much in the past few offseasons, and they still have more than $17 million in salary cap space. They're apparently comfortable with their core and the development of their draft picks to get them to the next level.

Is that core good enough? Again, it's unfair to judge them on four playoff games rather than 64 regular-season games. It's not logical to believe there's a fatal flaw that turns them into a different team in January, though many would argue that limited quarterback Andy Dalton is that flaw.

What the Bengals have is a really good run game with Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard, a superstar receiver in A.J. Green and a defense that is consistently solid. The Bengals should be one of the best teams in the NFL again. But for this team, it barely matters anymore what they are from September to December. Everyone wants to see some results in January.

2014 review in less than 25 words: The Bengals were good in the regular season and lost in the playoffs. Wait, what year is this?

Is the roster better, worse or about the same? The Bengals didn't lose much and didn't gain much either. The band is back together after another uneventful offseason. The roster is about the same. Literally.

Best offseason acquisition: Johnson was a good player for the Bengals, not such a good player after leaving for the Buccaneers in free agency last year, and now he's back. Johnson is only 28, so it's hard to believe last season's slump was related to age. He should bounce back and be the same player the Bengals are used to having off the edge.

Achilles' heel:

You can't get very far talking about the Bengals without Dalton coming up. I never had a big problem with Dalton. Sure, he was more game manager than an MVP candidate, but teams have won big with quarterbacks like him before. Last season was alarming though. Dalton struggled at times, and his 19-to-17 touchdown-to-interception ratio was easily the worst of his career. Dalton was good when Jay Gruden was running the offense, and was marginalized with new coordinator Hue Jackson. The Pro Bowl means nothing, but it was still shocking to see Dalton struggle so much in that game last season when nobody cared about playing defense. He had a 54 rating in that Pro Bowl, and no other quarterback in the game posted less than 87.5. Dalton will never be Andrew Luck or Ben Roethlisberger, a player who can put an offense on his back. But he has and can be productive. Year 2 in Jackson's offense — and if Dalton can get back to being the 4,293-yard, 33-touchdown quarterback he was in 2013 — will be interesting to track.

Position in flux: The Bengals' tackle situation is odd. Andrew Whitworth is a very good left tackle, and Andre Smith is solid on the right side. Both can become free agents next year, so the Bengals drafted their potential replacements. They took Cedric Ogbuehi in the first round and Jake Fisher in the second. The Bengals drafted them even though they are a contender in the AFC and neither rookie is expected to help right away. It'll probably be the status quo at tackle in 2015, but it's worth thinking about what might happen at both tackle spots a year from now.

Ready to break out: Players get forgotten when they're injured. That seems to be the case with tight end Tyler Eifert. He was a promising first-round pick two years ago out of Notre Dame, and had a decent rookie season. He had three catches for 37 yards in the Bengals' opener before he suffered a season-ending elbow injury. Maybe that delayed his breakout season for a year. Now that Jermaine Gresham is gone the job belongs to Eifert, and he has a great opportunity to establish himself as a top pass-catching NFL tight end.

Stat fact: The Bengals started riding Hill after seven games last year. In Hill's last nine games he rushed for 929 yards, by far the most in the NFL over that stretch. Marshawn Lynch was second with 824. Hill could easily pick up where he left off and be among the NFL's leaders in rushing. Bernard was a second-round pick just two years ago, but he's a role player now. Hill is the lead back.

Schedule degree of difficulty: The schedule is hard. Based on 2014 records, the Bengals have the second toughest schedule in the NFL. After opening the season at Oakland, the Bengals play six straight games against teams that had a winning record in 2014 (Chargers, Ravens, Chiefs, Seahawks, Bills and Steelers).

This team’s best-case scenario for the 2015 season: Winning a playoff game. That cloud will always hang over the Lewis era until the Bengals do something about it. Cincinnati could win a playoff game this season. The same team that went 10-5-1 last year basically returns intact, and while life isn't easy in the AFC North, it hasn't bothered the Bengals for four years running now. Whether the Bengals progress beyond that and be a real contender in the AFC probably depends on if the passing game bounces back to 2013 levels.

And here’s the nightmare scenario: If the schedule beats the Bengals down early on, it could be a tough season. The defense and running game gives the team a foundation for at least seven or eight wins, even in a terrible season. If Dalton's confidence is shaken and he regresses again, maybe the Bengals finish in that range.

The crystal ball says: The AFC is going to be tough. I think the Bengals are good, but I think they're the third-best team in the North. That says more about the division than the Bengals. A lot has to go right to make the playoffs year after year. I think just enough goes wrong this year to leave the Bengals barely outside of the postseason.

Previous previews
32. Tennessee Titans
31. Jacksonville Jaguars
30. Washington Redskins
29. Oakland Raiders
28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
27. New York Jets
26. Chicago Bears
25. Cleveland Browns
24. Atlanta Falcons
23. San Francisco 49ers
22. New York Giants
21. New Orleans Saints
20. Houston Texans
19. Carolina Panthers
18. St. Louis Rams
17. Minnesota Vikings
16. San Diego Chargers
15. Buffalo Bills
14. Detroit Lions
13. Philadelphia Eagles
12. Kansas City Chiefs

- - - - - - -

Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab