Breaking down Bengals' 2024 schedule: Which games could Cincy slip up in?
The Cincinnati Bengals enter the 2024 season with high hopes after their performance in the 2023 season. They did not make the playoffs but they finished with a winning record despite star quarterback Joe Burrow's injury-plagued year. He began the season with a calf injury and then was ruled out for the season after a wrist injury.
But there are some definite challenges. One is that the franchise quarterback is returning after such a long layoff and this is hardly the first time in his NFL career that he has been injured. Such nagging doubts may follow him as Cincy enters the 2024 season. Brian Callahan, who was responsible for keeping the offense firing last year, is now the head coach of the Tennessee Titans and players might need time adjusting to new offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher.
All of this considered, here's a predicted look at how the Bengals' 2024 season could go.
Breaking down Bengals' 2024 schedule: Which games could Cincy slip up in?
Using a man-against-the-machine approach, and calculating what looked like wins and losses based on an eye test for the Bengals' 2024 schedule, this is how their 2024 season could unfold:
- Week 1 vs New England Patriots - Win
- Week 2 at Kansas City Chiefs - Loss
- Week 3 vs Washington Commanders - Win
- Week 4 at Carolina Panthers - Win
- Week 5 vs Baltimore Ravens - Loss
- Week 6 at New York Giants - Win
- Week 7 at Cleveland Browns - Loss
- Week 8 vs Philadelphia Eagles - Win
- Week 9 vs Las Vegas Raiders - Win
- Week 10 at Baltimore Ravens - Loss
- Week 11 at Los Angeles Chargers - Loss
- Week 12 BYE
- Week 13 vs Pittsburgh Steelers - Win
- Week 14 at Dallas Cowboys - Loss
- Week 15 at Tennessee Titans - Win
- Week 16 vs Cleveland Browns - Win
- Week 17 vs Denver Broncos - Win
- Week 18 at Pittsburgh Steelers - Loss
The Bengals should win their opening game against the Patriots, who have a rookie quarterback, but will likely slip up the following week against Patrick Mahomes' Chiefs to lie 1-1 after two games. After that, they should win two games on the bounce against the Panthers and the Commanders, both opponents beginning with new coaches this year.
The Ravens, who ended Joe Burrow's season last time around, should hand Cincy their next loss. A Saquon Barkley-less Giants should be dispatched comfortably before coming unstuck against another divisional rival in the Browns.
Two home wins on the bounce against the Eagles and the Raiders should calm Bengals fans but Baltimore should have enough to do the double on Cincy. That demoralizing defeat could deflate them enough for the Chargers to claim their scalp before their Week 12 bye.
Coming off some rest, the Steelers should be defeated by the Bengals at home before suffering a reverse against regular season home-wins experts, the Dallas Cowboys. The next game should yield a win against the Titans, whose head coach's style of play they know, before notching up a couple more victories on the bounce against the Browns and Broncos at home.
Cincy could then lose their final game away to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 18 as Mike Tomlin would be in his playoff qualification and ending-with-a-winning-season mode. Overall, that should get the Bengals to a 10-7 record for the 2024 NFL season.
But if the human-centric approach does not cut the mustard, here's what "Sportskeeda's NFL Playoff Predictor" has to say.
Even the playoff predictor has the Bengals at 10-7 at the end of the 2024 regular season. The losses, however, are where the difference lies. Here's the full list of where the playoff predictor believes the Bengals will come up empty handed:
- Week 2 at Kansas City Chiefs
- Week 8 vs Philadelphia Eagles
- Week 10 at Baltimore Ravens
- Week 14 at Dallas Cowboys
- Week 15 at Tennessee Titans
- Week 16 vs Cleveland Browns
- Week 18 at Pittsburgh Steelers
It also forecasts that 10-7 should be enough for the Bengals to sneak into the playoffs as the No. 7 seed and face off against the Miami Dolphins, who are projected to be the AFC East Champions and the No. 2 overall seed, in the Wild Card round.