After regulars sit out finale, Bengals prepare for Raiders

The Cincinnati Bengals wanted to be rested and ready for the first round of the playoffs so they didn’t play many of their key starters in the regular-season finale against the Browns.

Star quarterback Joe Burrow watched the Jan. 9 game from home, and many starters either got a rest or were on the reserve/ COVID-19 list. Ja’Marr Chase played only long enough in the first quarter to break the team record for receiving yards in a season.

There weren’t many conclusions to be drawn from Cincinnati’s mundane 2116 loss to the Browns. The AFC North champion Bengals moved on quickly to start preparing to host the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday in the playoffs.

Cincinnati (10-7) is hoping to have the bangedup Burrow and his cast — one of the best receiving groups in the game — physically and mentally refreshed for the team’s first postseason game since the 2015 season. Chase played only briefly Sunday; receivers Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd sat out.

Just getting there won’t be good enough for the Bengals, who haven’t won a playoff game since the 1990 season. They beat the Houston Oilers 41-14 at Riverfront Stadium in the wild-card round that time before being eliminated the next week by the thenL.A. Raiders.

The next seven times Cincinnati made the playoffs, it was one and done.

“That’s all we constantly hear,” Chase said. “So finally having everybody say the opposite of what they’re used to, that’s what we’re trying to do here.”

The team’s top stars weren’t even born the previous time the city saw a playoff win. Chase (21) is a rookie.