Bengals travel to Baltimore for fourth straight year
How tough is it to win at night in the AFC North?
Since 2019, AFC North teams are 3-13 when playing division road games in primetime. The Cincinnati Bengals are 1-6.
Three of those losses have come against the Baltimore Ravens in Thursday night games. The good news is that the Bengals will get an opportunity to play on Thanksgiving night for only the second time in franchise history. The first came on November 25, 2010, when they lost to the New York Jets, 26-10.
The bad news is that Cincinnati will be back on the road at Baltimore for the fourth year in a row.
After the schedule was announced, center Ted Karras and tight end Mike Gesicki expressed excitement for the Thanksgiving date with their heated rival.
“Let’s make it four,” Karras said about the Baltimore trips via Bengals.com. “I’ve only seen it at night. It’s not just us. It will be rocking. It will be fun. I’m a football player. I play when I’m told to play. I’ve never played on Thanksgiving. That will be fun.”
Gesicki actually sees Thursday night games as advantageous amid a grueling 17-game schedule.
“I like the structure. A Thursday night game in October kind of gives you a mini-bye,” Gesicki said of the Oct. 16 Paycor Stadium game against the Steelers. “The bye week in the (second) week in November. Then a Thursday night game on Thanksgiving. It gives you a coupe of points through the back end of the season to rejuvenate a little bit.
“I’ve played on Christmas. I’ve played on Christmas Eve. But never Thanksgiving. That’s cool. That’s what everybody wants. A big stage, a lot of people watching, a big game, two really good teams. I don’t think the day or night changes the magnitude of the game.”
The Bengals are the only team in NFL history who have had to play a Thursday night game on the road against a divisional opponent in four straight seasons.
Cincinnati opponents posted a combined winning percentage of .509 last season, ranking them 14th overall in strength of schedule. The Bengals will play three games against teams projected to win fewer than six games this season (Browns and Jets) and eight games against teams projected to finish below .500 (Patriots, Dolphins, Jaguars, Cardinals, Vikings, Bears, and Steelers twice).
Cincinnati also faces one of the toughest three-week stretches in football during Weeks 13-15, with games at Baltimore, at Buffalo, and back home against the Ravens.