ANALYSIS: 5 things to know about the Bengals’ 2023 schedule

Among the most anticipated matchups for the Bengals are the Nov. 5 game against Buffalo on Sunday Night Football at Paycor Stadium and a New Years Eve feature game at Kansas City at 4:25 p.m. Dec. 31 on CBS. Cincinnati opens and closes with “Battle of Ohio” games against Cleveland, starting on the road Sept. 10 and finishing at home in a Week 18 game in which the time and date is to be determined.

Here is a closer look at the 2023 schedule.

1. Getting off on the right foot

The Bengals open on the road in a rivalry game and will be looking for their first victory in Cleveland since 2017.

They’ve been a slow-starting team the past two playoff seasons, but need to take advantage of a seemingly “easier” front portion of the schedule even while Joe Burrow tends to get better as the weeks progress. The Browns likely will only get better with more time for Deshaun Watson to settle into his first full season on the field with Cleveland, so a win in Week 1 is important for Cincinnati.

Among the first six games before the bye, only the Ravens (10-7) and Seahawks (9-8) had winning records in 2022. A Super Bowl LVI rematch against the Rams brings some hype simply because of that history from two seasons ago, but L.A. is coming off a 5-12 season and is in the midst of a roster rebuild.

Also in that stretch are games against the Titans, who were 7-10 last year, and Cardinals, who were 4-13.

2. Benefit of playing early

Expectations are low for Arizona this season as the Cardinals begin their rebuild under former Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, but a lot of that has to do with expectations Kyler Murray will miss the first half of the season.

The latest timeline projects him to be back no sooner than Week 5, which is when the Bengals play the Cardinals, so even if he is back for that game, he will still be working back into a rhythm.

Murray went down with a torn ACL and cartilage early in his Week 14 matchup with the Patriots last season, meaning as the Cardinals already were heading toward a lost season they also faced the prospect of losing their franchise quarterback for much of the 2023 campaign.

The recovery was expected to take eight to 10 months.

3. AFC Championship rematch

Both teams likely will already have clinched a playoff spot by the time the Bengals play the Chiefs on New Year’s Eve in Week 17, at 4:25 p.m. on CBS, but the game is one of the most anticipated matchups of the season. It’s a rematch of the last two AFC Championship games, the fifth meeting between Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow, and those planning the schedule were likely banking on the No. 1 seed in the AFC being on the line.

The last four meetings were determined by three points, with Burrow and the Bengals getting the best of Kansas City three times in the 2022 calendar year, including the AFC Championship in the 2021 season playoffs. Mahomes and the Chiefs ended their losing streak in the series in the most recent conference championship, then went on to win Super Bowl LVII.

This one should bring all the same excitement. What a way to wrap up 2023 before ringing in the new year.

4. Prime-time games aplenty

A lot of eyes will be on that New Year’s Eve game, but the Bengals will also be in the spotlight in four prime-time games and three others, aside from the Chiefs’ game, in the 4 p.m. time slot.

Two of those prime-time games take place at Paycor Stadium, including the Super Bowl LVI rematch against the Rams on Sept. 25 on Monday Night Football (8:15 p.m. on ESPN) and another highly-anticipated matchup with the Buffalo Bills on Nov. 5 on Sunday Night Football (8:20 p.m. on NBC). The Bengals beat the Bills in a divisional round playoff game in Buffalo last season, after their Week 17 matchup in Cincinnati – another primetime game in an electric atmosphere at Paycor Stadium – had to be canceled because of the first-quarter collapse of Damar Hamlin.

The two other prime-time games are at Baltimore on Nov. 16 on Thursday Night Football (8:15 p.m. on Prime Video) and at Jacksonville on Dec. 4 on Monday Night Football (8:15 p.m. on ESPN).

Cincinnati also plays at Pittsburgh on Dec. 23 in a standalone national window on NBC at 4:30 p.m.

5. The toughest stretch

The schedule picks up after the bye week with arguably the toughest stretch falling in Weeks 8 to 13.

Coming out of the bye, Cincinnati plays back-to-back games against teams that earned 13 wins last season, starting with a road game at San Francisco on Oct. 29 (4:25 p.m. on CBS) and followed by that Sunday Night game against the Bills.

Following a Nov. 12 home game against Houston, which went 3-13-1 last season, the Bengals have a quick turnaround to the Thursday Night game at Baltimore on Nov. 16. They then host Pittsburgh on Nov. 26 and head to Jacksonville the next week for the Monday Night game against Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars.

By then, Burrow and the offense should be playing at a high level and the Bengals should be up for those challenges.