Bobby Carpenter: Bengals Darkhorse To Win It All

Former NFL linebacker and current OutKick contributor Bobby Carpenter is already picking his sleeper for this year's Super Bowl.

Yes, there's still a week remaining in the regular season, but Carpenter, a former standout at Ohio State, has seen enough of the Cincinnati Bengals to feel confident in his prediction.

"The Cincinnati Bengals were in reset mode," Carpenter said. "They brought in coach Zac Taylor, (and were) meandering through the wilderness. If you're not Cincinnati Bengals fan ... they have had long periods of time were they weren't very good."

Now, they are AFC North champions, sporting a 10-6 record entering the regular season finale at Cleveland. That's all thanks in large part to the play of quarterback Joe Burrow, the former No. 1 overall pick.

"Joe Burrow is ahead of schedule as a quarterback," Carpenter said. "... I like Cincinnati as a team that can win a playoff game or two, and if you can win two and get to the AFC Championship, anything can happen."

For Carpenter's full 7-minute take on the Bengals and the looming NFL playoffs, check out the video below.