All Bengals

A Look Inside the Bengals Plane Amid a 5 1/2-Hour Delayed Departure for Their Thanksgiving Game

Jay Morrison|
The Bengals celebrate their victory after their game against the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on Thanksgiving Thursday November 27, 2025. The Bengals won the game with a final score of 33-14.
The Bengals celebrate their victory after their game against the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on Thanksgiving Thursday November 27, 2025. The Bengals won the game with a final score of 33-14. | Phil Didion/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

CINCINNATI – When the 2025 NFL schedule came out, the Cincinnati Bengals were not happy about having to play in primetime in Baltimore on a short week for the fourth year in a row.

And they weren’t shy about voicing it.

Little did they know then just how inconvenient the Thanksgiving trip was going to be.

What was supposed to be a 5 p.m. charter flight Wednesday turned into a five-and-a-half-hour ordeal that had all players, coaches, front office personnel and other members of the traveling stuck in their seats the entire time.

A mechanical issue related to a valve had mechanics telling the team it would be a 30-minute delay, then repeating it every half hour another nine or 10 times.

Eventually, Bengals travel secretary Jeff Brickner made the call to switch to a much-smaller commercial plane, and the team did finally arrived at its hotel in Baltimore a little before 1 a.m.

“Jeff Brickner did an unbelievable job,” Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said, referring to the team’s travel secretary.

“The Delta people were phenomenal,” Taylor added.  “Everyone was trying to problem solve and keep the peace.  And our players responded unbelievably. Other than (center Ted Karras) being a little hungry at times. We had plenty of food and took care of him.”

Taylor admitted that he was concerned about how his hangry, routine-dependent players would handle the delay, especially with the frustration of repeatedly being told it would just be another 30 minutes while knowing they had to play a big divisional game the next day.

“But man, they were laughing, they were bonding,” Taylor said. “It was one of those moments you can’t really create on your own. It was just a natural happening, and I thought, ‘This could be really good.’”

And it was in many ways, starting with the early morning arrival at the hotel and continuing into game, which the Bengals won 32-13.

Because it was a night game, the team didn’t have the usual meetings and ballroom walk-throughs scheduled at the hotel shortly after arrival.

Those were scheduled for early in the day Thursday, as is usual ahead of primetime games.

The only thing on the itinerary Wednesday night was a massive holiday dinner shortly after arrival.

“We got there at 1 in the morning to the hotel, and they had this unbelievable Thanksgiving dinner Brick had set up with the hotel people,” Taylor said. “I thought everyone would just grab their food and go. But that ballroom was packed at one in the morning. Packed. There wasn’t an open seat at any table. Guys sat down, ate their food, we let them sleep in. And they responded with a big win.”

While some players played cards, watched movies or college basketball games or just bonded through shared misery, Taylor said he passed the time by traversing the aisles.

“I kind of wandered the plane to check in with everybody, make sure everybody was good, which is where I got to see everybody was in great spirits,” he said. “They handled it great. I hung up front with Brick. Anything I could do to communicate information.”

“When you get on a plane initially, I fall asleep pretty quickly. It’s been a long week. You get to take an hour nap real quick and then refresh and get ready to go for the night,” Taylor added. “I knocked that hour out right away as soon as I hit my seat. I was out. And then I woke up and we hadn’t moved. So then you’re wired and you’re walking around and just seeing what you can do to help.”

It was Taylor who got on the plane’s public address system to inform the team they would be switching planes.

“I’m told it will be in about a half hour,” he joked.

After the Bengals beat the Ravens, Taylor was going through his postgame speech and handing out game balls when he announced that Brickner would be getting one.

The players roared in approval.

“The problem solving was really good,” Taylor said. “People kept their wits about them. They did everything they could to make the players comfortable.

“Maybe we’ll just try to arrive late for all road night games from now on.”

Published | Modified
Jay Morrison
JAY MORRISON

Jay Morrison covers the Cincinnati Bengals for Bengals On SI. He has been writing about the NFL for nearly three decades. Combining a passion for stats and storytelling, Jay takes readers beyond the field for a unique look at the game and the people who play it. Prior to joining Bengals on SI, Jay covered the Cincinnati Bengals beat for The Athletic, the Dayton Daily News and Pro Football Network.