Cincinnati Bengals 2024 schedule: Early season favors fast start for Joe Burrow and company (2024)

Who were the biggest winners and losers of the NFL schedule release? Jeff Howe has you covered.

The Cincinnati Bengals know their slate for the 2024 season and have a map for how to rebound from a 2023 that saw them finish 1-5 in the AFC North and last in the division. The Bengals are looking to reestablish themselves as a Super Bowl contender as Joe Burrow makes his way back from a wrist injury that ended his season in November, Tee Higgins likely plays on the franchise tag for what could be his final year in Cincinnati and an influx of draft picks and free agents looks to invigorate disappointing performances last year.

They’ll have an early test in Week 2, traveling to play the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs in Kansas City. But the other three games in the season’s first quarter will be against new head coaches and young quarterbacks, so Cincinnati can jump out to a quick start, something it hasn’t done in the Burrow era.

Week 1 keys to victory

Show up healthy. The NFL cliche masters would balk at this strategy, but the Bengals couldn’t ask for a much better setup than to play a Patriots team under first-time coach Jerod Mayo and potentially led by rookie quarterback Drake Maye (or journeyman Jacoby Brissett) at home to open the year. If Burrow and the majority of the club get to the starting blocks healthy, they should be favored to win by more than a touchdown.

Must-watch game: at Chiefs, Week 2

Attention may have shifted away from the Bengals-Chiefs rivalry with Burrow’s injury last season, but make no mistake, he is still the one quarterback to consistently have the number of Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City. He’s 3-1 against them. If the Bengals return to the level they expect with Burrow back, this should again be one of the premier games on the entire NFL slate even though some luster was lost with the early placement. Also, consider that if the Bengals could pull off this win, they would be favorites to start the season 4-0 as this game is surrounded by games against the Patriots, Commanders and Panthers, all with new coaches, quarterbacks or both.

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Toughest stretch: Weeks 13-16

The Bengals follow a traditionally brutal game against Pittsburgh in Week 13 with three games in 10 days: at Dallas on Monday Night Football, at Tennessee and then a Thursday night home game against Cleveland. In December. That type of stretch should make the NFLPA consider a grievance. Truly, a brutal beating on the body. It’s offset by just one game being played between Nov. 7 and Dec. 1, but it doesn’t change what looks like a defining and taxing stretch.

Game that has gotten tougher: at Baltimore

Almost one year to the day Burrow hurt his wrist on a Thursday night in Baltimore, the NFL shipped the Bengals back to Baltimore for another Thursday night game. A truly diabolical storyline grab for the Amazon folks. Beyond the boogeyman waiting inside M&T Bank Stadium for Burrow, the Bengals will again face the uphill slog of trying to win an AFC North divisional prime-time road game. North teams are 2-11 attempting it since 2020 and the Bengals are winless in that situation. The Ravens boast one of the best atmospheres in football and this game shifted from difficult to the toughest of the season — for the second straight year.

One game the Bengals can’t afford to lose: at Giants, Week 6, SNF

It’s odd to see three of four games against the NFC East shifted into prime time, but this one against the Giants will be important not because of the opponent or time slot, but the surrounding schedule. The Bengals need to take care of business against beatable teams when you consider games against Baltimore, Cleveland and Philadelphia surround this one. Not beating Daniel Jones and company would only put more pressure on games against three of the best teams on the schedule to avoid a midseason slide.

Best offense the Bengals will face: Eagles (Week 8)

Say what you will about Philadelphia’s decline at the end of last season, the Eagles will still arrive at Paycor Stadium loaded with weapons. DeVonta Smith, A.J. Brown, Dallas Goedert and company have cooked for Jalen Hurts in recent seasons. They’ve added Saquon Barkley to the mix. They have a new offensive coordinator in Kellen Moore and there’s always an added challenge going against a team you don’t face often. Using MVPs Patrick Mahomes or Lamar Jackson here would be an easy way out and familiar to recent Bengals’ defensive efforts. This provides a new challenge.

Best defense the Bengals will face: at Browns (Weeks 7 & 16)

The rest of the schedule doesn’t matter. Until Burrow and the Bengals prove they have an answer for Myles Garrett and the Browns, this will continue to be the steepest hill to climb. The last two games in Cleveland have been blowout losses where they were outscored by a combined 56-16. They’ve scored more than 16 points only once since 2021 in games both teams were trying to win. Cleveland’s cover corners and disruptive front led by Garrett are problems Cincinnati hasn’t been able to fix.

Predicted record: 12-5

Just about everything that could go wrong did go wrong last year and the Bengals were still 9-8. In five games midseason with Burrow fully healthy they went 4-1, including blowouts of the 49ers and Bills. They had an effective, though not splashy, offseason. Now toss in a fourth-place schedule, the fifth-easiest in the NFL using betting markets, coming off two years on the opposite end of the spectrum. The schedule-makers gave them an opportunity to start incredibly fast. The stars are aligning for another postseason run in 2024 if Burrow stays healthy.

Predicted AFC North finish: First

1. Bengals
2. Ravens
3. Browns
4. Steelers

Find your nearest coin and give it a flip. That’s just as predictive as trying to rank these four. Everyone can make a realistic argument for winning the division. Considering all the players and coaches that left Baltimore last season, I knock them down a peg. Assuming health for Burrow, it’s hard to pick against him and a still-stacked roster playing a fourth-place schedule. The Browns and Steelers might have more overall talent than the first two, but you can’t confidently buy any of the quarterbacks over Burrow and Jackson at this point.

(Top photo: Ian Johnson / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Paul Dehner Jr. is a senior writer and podcast host for The Athletic. He's been covering the Bengals and NFL since 2009, most notably, for six seasons with The Cincinnati Enquirer. He's born, raised and proudly Cincinnati. Follow Paul on Twitter @pauldehnerjr