The Cincinnati Bengals' run to a Super Bowl appearance was magical. Behind a revived Joe Burrow, a receiving core to be envied by many teams and a defense that stood tall against many red zone scares, they crashed their way into the big game. However, they fell short in the end, losing to a star-studded Los Angeles Rams team in heartbreaking fashion.

Despite the loss, many new fans and pundits kept repeating the same adage: the Bengals will be back. While it's a nice thing to say to fans, the truth is far harsher for the team. Cincinnati may have blown their best chance at winning the franchise's first ring. Let's talk about the reasons why.

2 reasons Joe Burrow, Bengals may have blown their best shot at winning the Super Bowl

The AFC is stacked

This is the first and biggest reason why the Bengals may never even sniff the Super Bowl again. These past few years have been the most competitive the AFC has ever been. Cincy's a damn great team on their own right, but looking at their competition, it certainly won't be easy making it back to the AFCCG.

The AFC is loaded with talent at the quarterback position. Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Justin Herbert and Lamar Jackson all play in this division. Those are two MVP winners, alongside two potential MVP candidates. The Raiders, Patriots, Browns, and the Steelers lurk as potential party crashers. Hell, the Bengals lost to Mike White and the freaking Jets in the regular season!

One can argue the Bengals had it easy facing Mahomes and the Chiefs during the AFC Championship Game. Kansas City is a damn good team, but their defense allowed Joe Burrow and Cincy to make big plays down the stretch. If Burrow and co. faced Josh Allen and the Bills' top-ranked defense? We might not even be talking about them now.

If the Bengals want to get back to the Super Bowl, they will need to beat one of the four star QBs above at the very least, as well as an upstart team with good coaching. Do they have the mettle to go toe-to-toe against all of the league's elite? Maybe they can, but one season isn't enough to prove that they are capable of that.

History is not in their favor

“They will be back.” “Joe Burrow will be back.”

These words have been uttered multiple times about Super Bowl losing teams. Old heads said this about Dan Marino after he led the Miami Dolphins to a Super Bowl appearance, but he never did return to the big game. Newer fans said that the Green Bay Packers would be back at the Super Bowl after winning one, but Aaron Rodgers has never been to the SB since 2011. (via Jason Sarney)

In reality, making it back to the Super Bowl is a monumental task in it's own right. Tom Brady's dominance with the Patriots made it seem easy, but it's far from a cakewalk. The cutthroat nature of a 17-game season where every game matters and a playoff format where you get eliminated after one loss makes upsets extremely devastating. One bad playoff matchup for the Bengals next season, and they're out of contention.

Does Cincinnati have what it takes to make it back to the Super Bowl? If they address their offensive line issues properly, yes, they have. However, the unfortunate reality of the NFL is that even having everything isn't enough to guarantee an appearance. Teams like Green Bay have had the talent, but they've always fallen short at inopportune times. Even the Chiefs, as great as they've been lately, have only been to two appearances in the last few years.

This may have been the Bengals' best shot at winning it all. Now, with a huge target painted on their back after a Super Bowl run, their path to a Lombardi just got a whole lot harder.