- It's not a question of if the Bengals will rest their starters in Sunday's regular-season finale against the Jets, it's how much.
For the Bengals, a lot of that could depend on the result of the New England-Houston game. If the Patriots win, then the Bengals (10-5) are locked into the fourth seed no matter what happens. But if the Texans win, the Bengals could get the third seed if they beat the Jets.
If both the Bengals and Patriots lose there is a very small chance that the Bengals could get the third seed. New England has the edge based on strength of victory.
At least early in the week, it's business as usual around Paul Brown Stadium.
"It will be another Sunday for us," coach Marvin Lewis said. "I'll make those adjustments and so forth later in the week and as we go. We're going to approach it as a game we need to win."
However, Lewis has acknowledged that he could adjust the situation after Sunday's early games.