There's no denying the Bengals are back in the playoff race. The question is, are they in the driver's seat? They're playing their best football of the season heading into a stretch of games that could be, maybe should be, very easy to navigate.

I still say the Steelers get in, because with two games against Cleveland and the Bengals and Chargers both at Heinz Field, plus the inconsistent Cowboys still remaining of their schedule (plus, the Ravens in Baltimore), they're still the safest best to get to ten wins.

But still - Roethlisberger is out, they have substantial injuries on both sides of the ball, and Byron Leftwich looked like a man who was asked to walk and forth through a car wash then asked to fling passes.

That leaves one more spot.  I say, like last year, nine wins gets the job done.

Indy already has six wins.  As good a story as the Colts have been, and as great as Andrew Luck looks like he'll be, I think it's fair to wonder if they can get to nine.  They have the Texans twice (though it'll be interesting to see how Houston handles that game in week 17 given their current position in the standings), plus formidable opponents in Detroit and Tennessee, and Buffalo.  There's also the perils of playing with a rookie quarterback in the season's final month.  Growing pains, even for someone as talented as Luck, are inevitable.

The five teams directly behind the Bengals - San Diego, Tennessee, the Jets, Buffalo, and Miami - would all have to go 5-1 the rest of the way to win nine games.  Neither of them right now look capable of rattling off five wins in six games, regardless of opponent.

That brings us to the Bengals.  The Bengals haven't earned any benefit of the doubt, and decades of rooting for this franchise has taught me to assume the worst even when things are at their best.  But they're playing well now, their next two opponents are not, the Cowboys are an enigma, and the Eagles are more disastrous than a date with a South Philly co-ed.

Can they win all four?  I won't count it.  Can they win all three?  Decent chance.

That takes them to eight and leaves the season's final two games, at Pittsburgh and home for Baltimore.  The Steelers game could be huge, though right now, even with their issues, I'd have a tough time picking the Bengals to win at Heinz.  But the Ravens could be another story.  They did blow out the Bengals in week one, and they've still managed to do more than just stay afloat despite their injuries.  But given their lead in the AFC North, there's a chance they could be playing out the string with no much on the line.  There's also a chance the Ravens blow them out by five touchdowns.

But at least there's a chance for that game to mean something.  After where this team was two weeks ago, I'll take that chance.

Artrell Hawkins and I will get into this and a ton more today on ESPN1530, starting at 3:04.