Three Predictions for the Cincinnati Bengals' 2026 Schedule Ahead of Thursday's Release

Following Tuesday’s announcement that the Cincinnati Bengals will play the Atlanta Falcons in Spain in Week 9, we know the exact time and date for one of the 17 games this season.

We’ll find out the other 16 Thursday when the NFL releases the full schedule.

Will the Bengals – and their fans – get a warm trip to Miami in December again?

Will the Florida-based Jaguars and Buccaneers have to come to chilly Paycor Stadium in December or January?

How many primetime games?

When will they Open in Orange?

Until we get the official word, here are three predictions for the 2026 Bengals schedule:

Season Opener at Paycor

This is an easy one, but it’s far from a lock.

The Reds are out of town on Sunday, Sept. 13, and they are home Sunday, Sept. 20, which is significant because the stadiums are less than a half mile apart and share parking spaces.

The only time both teams played at home the same day was when it was impossible for the NFL to schedule around it. That was Oct. 10, 2010, when the Reds made the playoffs and the Bengals had a 1 p.m. home game against the Buccaneers. MLB put the Reds-Phillies game at 8:07 p.m. to try to alleviate traffic and parking nightmares.

So the Reds schedule sets up for a likely Week 1 home game and Week 2 road game for the Bengals.

However, just last year the Reds were on the road on the NFL’s opening Sunday, and the Bengals still played on the road, opening in Cleveland.

Also, Week 2 is not guaranteed to be a road game just because the Reds are playing at Great American Ball Park.

The Reds leave for a six-game road trip after their Sunday, Sept. 20 home game against the Cubs, so a Week 2 home game on Monday Night Football is a possibility.

Another reason a home-road start isn’t a lock is the NFL has forced the Bengals to open with consecutive road games twice in the last 15 years (2016 and 2011), and neither time was due to the Reds’ schedule.

There is no Reds conflict on Thursday, Sunday or Monday of Week 3, so a road-road-home start is not out of the question.

While it’s rare for teams to open with back-to-back road games, it has happened 19 times in the last five seasons alone, including the Raiders having to do it in back-to-back seasons in 2023 and 2024 and the 49ers in 2021, 2023 and 2025.

It’ll Be Getting Late Early Around Here

The NFL schedule makers are as aware of Joe Burrow’s injury history as the Cincinnati fan base is, so don’t be surprised to see one, maybe two primetime games early in the season to better ensure a marquee quarterback matchup.

Burrow vs. Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs feels like a lock for primetime, but the league might not want to rush that one given some uncertainty around Mahomes’ return from ACL surgery.

So maybe they run back the 2024 Week 3 matchup of Burrow vs. Jayden Daniels and the Commanders on Monday Night Football.

Bengals-Ravens is another one that might make sense. The league has been made well aware of the Bengals’ anger at having to play four consecutive road games against the Ravens in primetime.

Head coach Zac Taylor said he would be surprised if it happened again. Will the league simply make Bengals at Ravens a 1 p.m. kickoff, or will they go full bore and offer an apologetic nod in the form of putting the Ravens in primetime at Paycor?

Week 5 could be a good spot for that one. The Ravens are in Brazil in Week 3, so it’s unlikely the league would send them on the road again in Week 4.

An early matchup of the 2020 No. 1 overall pick (Burrow) and 2021 No. 1 pick (Trevor Lawrence), especially with the Jaguars coming off a 13-4 division championship under first-year coach Liam Cohen and the whole storyline of Jacksonville being the opponent when Burrow suffered his most recent injury.

Performance-Based Primetime

The Bengals have the star power to attract multiple stand-alone games, but they also are coming off a 6-11 season.

So don’t expect the schedule to be loaded with primetime games … yet.

It’s another reason to buttress the above prediction that a night game or two could be coming early in the season, and the league can leave themselves open to flex Cincinnati into another game or two if the team is playing well and in the playoff hunt after midseason.

It’s rare for a team coming of six wins or fewer to get five primetime games the following season.

There have been a couple instances, such as the 49ers last year after a 6-11 campaign in 2024. They played six primetime games in 2025 but were only originally scheduled with four before two were flexed.

Same with the Chargers in 2024. The Jim Harbaugh effect after a 5-12 season in 2023 earned them three primetime games, and then another two were flexed.

The 2023 Broncos got the Sean Payton effect. Coming off a 5-12 season and coaching change, they got four primetime games and added a fifth via flex.

The last team to win six or fewer games and still get five primetime games on the original schedule was the 2023 Raiders, for reasons unclear. There was no coaching change or influx of stars on the roster.

So there is at least one recent precedence, but you should probably temper your expectations on primetime games to four or fewer when the league announces the schedule.

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