Yes, the Bengals could go 0-16. But the mathematical odds are against it. Dr. Joanna Mitro, head of the University of Cincinnati mathematics department, said an 0-16 season is unlikely. And, that is not because it has never been done. (Five teams have gone 1-15 since the 16-game NFL format began in 1978).

        “For the sake of argument, let's say their chances of losing each week are 90 percent,” Mitro said. “If you believe they have a 10 percent chance of winning each week, the chances become even greater that they will win at least one game.”

        In other words, multiply .9 times .9. Do it 10 times, since the Bengals have 10 games left.

        Your result: 31.4 percent.

        That means the Bengals, with this hypothetical formula, have a 68.6 percent chance of winning at least one game this year.

        “And if you believe they have better than a 10 percent chance of winning each week, then the chances are even greater that they will win at least one game,” Mitro said.

        But this may not be your average situation.

        Ask Don Criqui.

        Criqui, who has called NFL games for 34 years, is not known for his scathing analysis. But he could not restrain himself while watching the Bengals lose 15-0 at Pittsburgh on Sunday.

        “The Bengals will move to 0-6 after this loss today,” Criqui told viewers, “and there is nothing, nothing, to indicate they'll win any one of the next 10 games. They could go 0-16.”

        Don't bet on it. It just seems the Bengals have no chance of winning.

        Remember the 1993 Dave Shula-David Klingler Bengals team that started 0-10? Offensively inept, just like the 2000 Bengals. Seemed they had no prayer of winning.

        They finished 3-13.

        It's a similar scenario now.

        “People on the street might think they have no chance of winning,” Mitro said. “Sure, they could lose all the rest. But the probability is small.”

        No NFL team has gone winless since Tampa Bay, an expansion team, went 0-14 in 1976.

        The Bengals say they aren't thinking of 0-16, or even 0-7.

        “I hope nobody's thinking like that,” defensive end Michael Bankston said. “Everybody looks ahead, but we can't be thinking about going home December 24th.”

        That is the final day of the season, when the Bengals play at Philadelphia.

        If the Bengals are 0-15 entering that one, they already will have set a record. The worst start in a 16-game season is 0-14, by the 1980 New Orleans Saints. And when those “Aints” finally won in Week 15, it was just 21-20 over the New York Jets.

        But they won.

        Bengals quarterback Scott Mitchell said he has been on 0-3 teams that made the postseason (Detroit), and 9-2 teams that didn't make it.

        “People are not physically beating us up or dominating us,” Mitchell said. “We've got 10 games left. It's not impossible to turn things around.”

        It only seems that way.

        “Our margin of error is not great,” Bankston said. “We have to play darn near perfect to win a game.”

        A glance at the remaining schedule, including opponent's won-lost record:

        • Oct. 22 — DENVER (4-3): The Broncos have scored 217 points this year. The Bengals have scored 37.

        • Oct. 29 — at Cleveland (2-5): The Browns flogged the Bengals 24-7 in the opener at Paul Brown Stadium, but this is still a bad Browns team. A possible win?

        • Nov. 5 — BALTIMORE (5-2): The Bengals lost 37-0 at Baltimore on Sept.24. It won't be 37-0, but won't be a win.

        • Nov. 12 — at Dallas (2-4): Emmitt Smith and Troy Aikman have seen better days, but the Bengals are on the road.

        • Nov. 19 — at New England (2-5): Obviously a mediocre team, but go with the Patriots at home.

        • Nov. 26 — PITTSBURGH (3-3): The Steelers' 15-0 win over the Bengals was no masterpiece. A play here or there, and the Bengals could win. Or so Dick LeBeau believes.

        • Dec. 3 — ARIZONA (2-4): It figures to be cold, and the desert crowd won't like that. If there's one game you should win, this is it.

        • Dec. 10 - at Tennessee (5-1): Forget it.

        • Dec. 17 — JACKSONVILLE (2-5): The Jaguars are reeling. By this point, maybe they will have packed it in.

        • Dec. 24 - at Philadelphia (4-3): Corey Dillon asks if he can leave in the sixth inning.

        Mitro, who said she is not a sports aficionado, said the 90 percent assumption of losing each game is probably a high estimate.

        “Aren't there different probabilities against different opponents?” she said.

        Yes. For instance, most observers expect a loss to Denver this week. But there is a chance the Bengals could beat Cleveland the following week.

        “It just gets less and less likely for you to keep losing, the longer the season goes on,” Mitro said.

        So, Bengals fans, cheer up. All is not lost.

        Yet.

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