Week 1: @ Kansas City Chiefs (Opening Kickoff Night)
What better way to kick off the season than with a rematch of last year’s AFC Championship game? Since the reigning Super Bowl champion began hosting Opening Kickoff night in 2004, there have been two instances where a conference championship rematch has been featured on Opening Kickoff night. Burrow and Mahomes getting four months of hype leading up to the first game of the season would be incredibly palpable.
Week 2: vs. Cleveland Brows (1 p.m.)
The Battle of Ohio will get underway early this season, marking the fifth time the two teams will meet in week two since 2002.
Week 3: vs. Houston Texans (1 p.m.)
This could be the first time the Bengals face a rookie quarterback in 2023 as well as a first-year head coach in DeMeco Ryans. The Texans have always been a thorn in the Bengals side, including a 3-1 record at Paycor Stadium featuring three straight wins.
Week 4: @ San Francisco 49ers (Sunday Night Football)
This could be a fun game. A trip to San Francisco in prime time featuring two teams with Super Bowl aspirations. Five times since 2002 have featured the conference championship losers from the previous year matched up on Sunday Night Football the following season.
Week 5: vs. Los Angeles Rams (4:25 p.m. on FOX)
If any game is going to be the White Out game, it should be this one. A rematch of Super Bowl LVI, and Bengals fans will be out in full force to defend their home turf. The Rams should also be better this season, making this an America’s Game of the Week on FOX.
Week 6: BYE
Week 7: vs. Buffalo Bills (Monday Night Football)
ESPN and ABC should campaign hard for this game. For reasons bigger than football, this game wasn’t played on Monday Night Football last year. Buffalo is normally red hot at the beginning of every season. The question is: can the Bengals gel early enough to be with Buffalo at the top of the standings early on, creating a heavyweight midseason showdown.
Week 8: @ Pittsburgh Steelers (4:25 p.m.)
There will be debates this offseason about who the second-best team in the AFC North is, and there will even be some debating if the Bengals are even the best team in the division. Don’t listen to the latter debates. I think the second best team will end up being Pittsburgh. Remarkably, the Bengals and Steelers have played nine games in Pittsburgh with a 4:25 or later kickoff time since 2002. The rivalry was reignited last year, and this could be the first of many marquee games between these two teams over the next 10+ years.
Week 9: vs. Baltimore Ravens (Sunday Night Football)
This rivalry ended last year with some bad blood on Sunday Night Football in the Playoffs, so this is a prime candidate for a Sunday Night Football game again this season. The last two seasons, the Ravens have declined following the mid-way point of the season. The Bengals, meanwhile, have surged at the mid-way point each of the last two seasons. This game could be a crossroads game for both teams.
Week 10: @ Cleveland Browns (1 p.m.)
It’s one thing that has dogged Joe Burrow and the franchise’s recent history: winning in Cleveland. Who knows what the Browns will be by week 10, but the Bengals can’t overlook them.
Week 11: vs. Indianapolis Colts (1 p.m.)
The Bengals could be facing their second rookie quarterback this season in this game if the Colts draft Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud. The Bengals are 3-1 all-time against the Colts at Paycor Stadium.
Week 12: @ Jacksonville Jaguars (Thanksgiving Night)
How much fun would Thanksgiving night be if Joe Burrow and Trevor Lawrence face off against each other? And think about all the players from the 2019 National Championship who would be on the field in this game: Burrow, Lawrence, Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Travis Etienne, Jackson Carman. This may not be the first time these two teams face off in a marquee game in the next 10+ years.
Week 13: vs. Minnesota Vikings (4:25 p.m.)
Another player from the 2019 National Championship will be featured in this game: Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson. These two teams played a thriller in week one of the 2021 season, and the Vikings are coming off a stellar 13-4 season in 2022.
Week 14: @ Arizona Cardinals (4:05 p.m.)
Arizona is a wild card, at best, heading into 2023. They have Kyler Murray, but how will he fare under new head coach Jonathan Gannon? But hey, a trip to Arizona in December would be nice.
Week 15: vs. Seattle Seahawks (1 p.m.)
This will only be Seattle’s second trip to Cincinnati since 2003, and these two teams have played some close games since then including the memorable game in Cincinnati in 2015.
Week 16: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (Monday Night Football on Christmas Eve)
How much fun would this be? Christmas night. Division rivalry. And so much could be on the line.
Week 17: @ Tennessee Titans (1 p.m.)
As if hosting Pittsburgh on Christmas Night Monday Night Football isn’t enough, how about a trip to Nashville on New Year’s Eve?
Week 18: @ Baltimore Ravens (TBD)
Since the NFL went to divisional matchups the final week of the regular season, the Bengals and Ravens have met nine times. A lot could be on the line in this game, but Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has missed the end of the season in both 2021 and 2022.
Let me be Frank and Cut to the Chase 