Tag: Bengals schedule

A look at Bengals’ easiest path to playoffs

Here’s how the Bengals can still reach the playoffs.

The Cincinnati Bengals aren’t done yet. Cincinnati has very slim playoff odds — ESPN’s Football Power Index gives them just a 5.1% chance — but they’re still above zero.

But how exactly can the Bengals make the playoffs? The easiest scenario was laid out by NFL Playoff Scenarios. That scenario is as follows:

1. The Bengals must win out. This one seems pretty obvious. The Bengals have to get to 9-8. Not only are two of the Wild Cards already at nine wins, the third (Chargers) is at 8-6 and has the head-to-head tiebreaker on the Bengals, so Cincinnati has to get ahead of Los Angeles. We’ll dive more into that shortly.

2. The loser of Thursday’s Broncos-Chargers game has to then lose their last two games. As mentioned before, the Bengals have to get above the Chargers because of the Week 11 loss. So if the Chargers lose Thursday, they then would have to lose their last two games. Unfortunately for the Bengals, L.A.’s last two games are against the 3-11 New England Patriots and the 2-12 Las Vegas Raiders. Probably not happening.

The Broncos, however, are a different story and much more realistic. If Denver loses Thursday, the Bengals would need the Broncos to then also lose their last two games. The first of those two games just so happens to be against the Bengals, meaning the Bengals can play themselves into a playoff-clinching scenario in Week 18 against the Steelers by taking care of business against their biggest obstacle.

The Broncos then finish the season against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Bengals would have to hope the Chiefs are still needing to play for the No. 1 seed, otherwise they may rest starters and that would be bad news for the Bengals. But if the Bengals catch the Broncos at nine wins, they would beat out Denver for the final spot…if one more scenario also plays out.

3. The Colts and Dolphins each have to lose one of their final three games. If the Bengals and Broncos are tied at 9-8 or if the Bengals are the only 9-8 team among the teams we’ve listed, they make the playoffs. We’ve already touched on the Chargers and why the Bengals would need them to finish 8-9 to beat them. So why are the Colts and Dolphins relevant here?

The reason is that the Bengals lose tiebreakers to both the Colts and the Dolphins. The Bengals are 3-6 in conference games, an inferior record to both the Colts and Dolphins, both 5-5. The Bengals didn’t play either team, so it next goes to conference record. If either or both teams also get to 9-8, they’d be 7-5 in conference while the Bengals would be 6-6. That knocks the Bengals out.

So, for example, if the Bengals, Broncos and Colts all get to 9-8, the Bengals would be out due to their inferior conference record. Same if we swap the Colts for the Dolphins. So this is why the Bengals need those two to lose once to get them out of the way.

The Colts finish the season against the Titans at home, Giants on the road and the Jaguars at home. Miami has the the 49ers home, then they visit the Browns and Jets.

Just for fun, since the odds are severely against it, if all the Wild Card contenders finish 9-8, it would be the Colts, Dolphins and Ravens getting in while the Chargers, Bengals and Broncos would be left out.

Division tiebreaks eliminate the Bengals (swept by the Ravens) and the Broncos (swept by Chargers in this scenario). Then, between the Colts, Dolphins, Ravens and Chargers, the Ravens and Chargers drop out on conference record (IND 7-5, MIA 7-5, BAL 5-7, LAC 6-6). The Colts beat the Dolphins head-to-head which would give them the No. 5 seed.

Repeat the process to fill in the rest of the spots. Miami would win the three-way tie over the Ravens and Chargers on conference record for the No. 6 seed and then the Ravens would get the No. 7 seed via their Week 12 win over the Chargers (division tiebreaks eliminate the Bengals and Broncos in both cases).

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NFL takes a big gamble with Bengals schedule flex

The NFL picks the Bengals.

The Cincinnati Bengals need to win out and get some major help from other teams to make the NFL playoffs.

It seems the NFL, at least, has some confidence the Bengals will overcome the Cleveland Browns in Week 16 to make the week after have some meaning.

Tuesday, the NFL announced that the Bengals’ Week 17 game against the Denver Broncos would be one of the three games selected for a Saturday national slot.

That game is now set for a 4:30 p.m. ET kickoff and could feature huge playoff implications for both teams.

Those Bengals must first beat the Browns in Week 16 to avoid elimination. Following that up with a win over the Broncos is part of the team’s complicated path to the playoffs.

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Bengals schedule: Do the Cincinnati Bengals play today?

Are the Cincinnati Bengals playing today? Here’s a look at the schedule and the games to come. 

Will the Cincinnati Bengals be on the field today in Week 14 of the NFL schedule?

Following a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 13, the Bengals aren’t part of the Week 14 Sunday slate.

Instead, the Bengals are on the special Simpsons broadcast of Monday Night Football, where they will visit the Dallas Cowboys. Both teams are well under .500, but the game was unable to be flexed out of the primetime slot due to the nature of the work that went into the special broadcast.

The Bengals would like to win out in order to hopefully remain alive in the playoff race, but Joe Burrow and Co. haven’t won a game since November 3.

Bengals 2024 schedule

  • Sept. 8: vs.  New England (L, 16-10)
  • Sept. 15: at Kansas City (L, 26-25)
  • Mon. Sep 23: vs. Washington (L, 38-33)
  • Sept. 29: at Carolina (W, 34-24)
  • Oct. 6: vs. Baltimore (L, 41-38OT)
  • Oct. 13: at NYG (W, 17-7)
  • Oct. 20: at Cleveland (W, 21-14)
  • Oct. 27: vs. Philadelphia (L, 37-17)
  • Nov. 3: vs. Las Vegas (W, 41-24)
  • Nov. 7: at Baltimore (L, 35-34)
  • Nov. 17: at LA Chargers (L, 34-27)
  • Nov. 24: BYE
  • Dec. 1: vs. Pittsburgh (L, 44-38)
  • Record: 4-8

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Bengals schedule: Do the Cincinnati Bengals play today?

Are the Cincinnati Bengals playing today? Here’s a look at the schedule and the games to come. 

Will the Cincinnati Bengals be on the field today in Week 12 of the NFL schedule?

Following a loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 11, the Bengals are on a bye week and will return to the field on December 1 for a homestand against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Those Steelers are now 8-3 and just lost on the Thursday primetime game in Week 12 to the Cleveland Browns, 24-19. The Bengals benefit, but only slightly, and can at least pull a little closer in the AFC North if they can come out of the bye strong and take down the top team in the division.

Bengals 2024 schedule

  • Sept. 8: vs.  New England (L, 16-10)
  • Sept. 15: at Kansas City (L, 26-25)
  • Mon. Sep 23: vs. Washington (L, 38-33)
  • Sept. 29: at Carolina (W, 34-24)
  • Oct. 6: vs. Baltimore (L, 41-38OT)
  • Oct. 13: at NYG (W, 17-7)
  • Oct. 20: at Cleveland (W, 21-14)
  • Oct. 27: vs. Philadelphia (L, 37-17)
  • Nov. 3: vs. Las Vegas (W, 41-24)
  • Nov. 7: at Baltimore (L, 35-34)
  • Nov. 17: at LA Chargers (L, 34-27)
  • Nov. 24: BYE
  • Record: 4-7

Bengals vs. Cowboys won’t be flexed out of primetime

The special Bengals vs. Cowboys Simpsons primetime game can’t be moved.

The Cincinnati Bengals just had a game flexed out of primetime — but it’s not the hyped Week 14 encounter on a Monday night with the Dallas Cowboys.

That particular contest in Week 14 will get the Simpsons treatment via special broadcast.

And that’s the reason it can’t be flexed at all.

Sports Illustrated’s Jay Morrison had the scoop: “For those asking, the Bengals-Cowboys MNF game is not eligible to be flexed out because of all the drawings, voiceovers and other work that has been done for The Simpsons alt-cast that will air that night.”

What looked like a heavyweight cross-conference matchup between two playoff contenders is instead a battle between teams with a combined seven wins, as of this writing.

Even worse, the Cowboys won’t have franchise passer Dak Prescott due to a season-ending injury.

Should both teams keep going the way they have so far, it could be an encounter between two teams with head coaches on the hot seat while prime draft positioning is at stake, too.

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Bengals suffer schedule pitfall and big silver lining with flex

Some very good and some very bad coming out of the Bengals schedule change.

It’s really hard to say whether the Cincinnati Bengals actually benefit from having their Week 16 game against the Cleveland Browns flexed.

The NFL moved the Bengals off the Thursday night primetime game in Week 16, shifting them to a typical Sunday afternoon slot that week.

On the one hand, one of the big sour talking points entering the season was the fact that starting in Week 14, the team had to play three games in a roughly 10-day span. They had a Monday night game on December 9, a Sunday game on December 15, and then a Thursday game on December 19. That’s now gone.

But it comes with a catch, as pointed out by The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr.: “Also, includes the fact they give up an AFC North home TNF game which has been insanely tough on road teams for almost a decade. Nine straight wins for home team dating back to 2015 and twice this year.”

At 4-7 and pretty much every game on the schedule needing to be a win from this point, maybe the Bengals would have preferred to keep the 10-day crunch and that serious dose of home-field advantage.

This is especially the case against an AFC North team like the Browns, who seem to have new life after upsetting Pittsburgh in Week 12.

As always, all of this is moot if the Bengals could actually close out wins. But if they could, they wouldn’t be 4-7, need a perfect close to the season and have conversations like this at all.

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Bengals’ Week 16 game vs. Browns flexed out of Thursday night

A big schedule change for the Bengals.

The Cincinnati Bengals no longer have to worry about another short week this season. The NFL has flexed out their Week 16 game against the Cleveland Browns.

The game was originally scheduled for Thursday, December 19 on Amazon Prime Video. They will now play in the 1 p.m. ET window on Sunday, December 22 on FOX.

Flexing into the Thursday night spot will be the Denver Broncos at the Los Angeles Chargers. That game was originally set for 4:05 Sunday on FOX.

This move is understandable. The Broncos and Chargers both could be playoff teams this season while the Bengals and Browns have a combined 7-15 record, though the Browns did just upset the Steelers Thursday night in the snow.

So, the Bengals have now been flexed into a primetime spot and flexed out of a primetime spot. They do have a Monday night game coming up on December 9 against the Dallas Cowboys, a game that has already been announced as not being flexed out because of the Simpsons production the league is planning for that game.

 

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Bengals schedule: Do the Cincinnati Bengals play today? 

Is Cincinnati playing today? Here’s a look at the schedule and the games to come. 

Will the Cincinnati Bengals be on the field today in Week 10 of the NFL schedule?

The Bengals played in Week 10 already, enduring a short turnaround to a Thursday night game and promptly falling to 4-6 with a 35-34 loss to the Baltimore Ravens despite 428 yards and four touchdowns from Joe Burrow — with 264 and three of those going to Ja’Marr Chase.

Burrow and the Bengals next play in Week 11, a road game against the Los Angeles Chargers that was flexed into the “Sunday Night Football” slot, meaning an 8:20 p.m. ET kickoff on NBC and Peacock.

 

Bengals 2024 schedule

  • Sept. 8: vs.  New England (L, 16-10)
  • Sept. 15: at Kansas City (L, 26-25)
  • Mon. Sep 23: vs. Washington (L, 38-33)
  • Sept. 29: at Carolina (W, 34-24)
  • Oct. 6: vs. Baltimore (L, 41-38OT)
  • Oct. 13: at NYG (W, 17-7)
  • Oct. 20: at Cleveland (W, 21-14)
  • Oct. 27: vs. Philadelphia (L, 37-17)
  • Nov. 3: vs. Las Vegas (W, 41-24)
  • Nov. 7: at Baltimore (L, 35-34)
  • Nov. 24: BYE
  • Record: 4-6

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Bengals’ turnaround to contention isn’t happening this year, says NFL analyst

For one analyst, there’s zero chance the usual Bengals rebound happens.

After the Cincinnati Bengals Week 8 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport had takeaways from every game played for each team.

After the Bengals fell 37-17, Davenport concluded that their slow start would be too much for them to overcome to be back in the mix for Super Bowl contention this season, citing issues with the defense and the run game as the best evidence for that.

Here’s some of what Davenport wrote:

Cincinnati still has time to make a postseason push, but no one should expect the Bengals to be in the Super Bowl mix this year. They still have yet to play well on both sides of the ball in the same game, and while Burrow is healthy, even he can’t overcome the many flaws the Bengals possess.

Now, sitting with a 3-5 record and three games behind the AFC North-leading Pittsburgh Steelers, it is going to be a big uphill climb for the Bengals, but it’s something they have done before, after starting slow multiple times.

There are still nine games to go on the schedule for Cincinnati, so the second half of the season could end up being a completely different story, and NFL experts could be kicking themselves later down the road for doubting what this team could do. But the Bengals have certainly put themselves in a tough spot.

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Bengals reveal official jersey schedule for 2024 NFL season

Here’s the full uniform schedule for the Bengals.

The Cincinnati Bengals slowly rolled back the curtain on the team’s jersey schedule for the 2024 season, highlighting those primetime games and the new orange pants.

Monday, ahead of the preseason finale, the Bengals finally revealed the entire uniform schedule for the season.

That includes the orange pants right in Week 1, which will go with an orange jersey top for what the team is calling an Open in Orange event.

The Bengals will also go with an orange look in Week 13 for an AFC North showdown with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Here is a look at the full jersey schedule released by the team:

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