Carson Palmer Won’t Rule Out 7-0 Finish, Wild-Card Spot for Bengals

It sounds as if Chad Javon Ocho Cinco has been sending Carson Palmer subliminal messages. Or maybe the injured quarterback believes that the Bengals are poised for a second-half-of-the-season run after their first victory of the season last week.

Or perhaps Palmer's just overmedicated, an unintended side effect of rehabbing his right arm injury. Whatever, he sounds hopeful, which is something new for an organization that got off to a rollicking 0-8 start.

"We still have seven games left. We can still end up at 8-8," Palmer said. "You never know what can happen in this league. I've only been in it for six years, but strange things happen. You can't say right now that one team can or can't make the playoffs. You could find a way to slip into a wild-card spot at 8-8. I'm not going to say it's going to happen, but I'm not going to say it's not going to happen. So all I can do is to continue to rehab and get as healthy as possible."

Attention Bengals doctors: please lower Carson's dosage because he's obviously going mad. Actually, I don't fault him for his cheery optimism; football is a competitive sport and, presumably, owner Mike Brown pays the players to try to win games.

Part of the issue, obviously, is that Palmer's been out of action since Oct. 5, but, as has been the case during Marvin Lewis' tenure, the defense is as dreadful as ever. According to the Cincinnati Enquirer's Mark Curnutte, Palmer plans to see "two more doctors and a rehab specialist when he visits California over the bye weekend" and says he hopes to "be ready to roll" next week.

Whether that means returning to practice or actually giving it a go in a game is unclear, but it's a tad more promising than hearing Palmer could be lost for the season. But, hey, the Bengals are on a one-game winning streak -- anything is possible!