Cincinnati Bengals: Enquirer team predicts season record, game-by-game results
It might be the most-hyped Cincinnati Bengals team ever. After Super Bowl and AFC Championship game appearances the last two years, will the Bengals finally break through and win the franchise's first Lombardi Trophy? Ahead of Sunday's season opener in Cleveland, Cincinnati.com Bengals beat reporter Kelsey Conway, reporter Charlie Goldsmith and columnist Jason Williams make their season predictions:
Cincinnati Bengals final regular season record
Conway: 12-5
Goldsmith: 12-5
Williams: 11-6
Week 1 (Sept. 10): Bengals at Cleveland Browns
Conway: Bengals win, 23-20. The Bengals know the importance of starting off the season better than they did in 2021. Despite Joe Burrow missing training camp with a calf strain, Cincinnati finds a way to leave Cleveland with a win.
Goldsmith: Bengals lose, 20-17. The AFC North is the best division in the NFL this year, and a 4-2 record in the division would be a great end result for the Bengals. A new-look Browns defense wins the first matchups of the season.
Williams: Bengals lose, 24-21. Burrow and coach Zac Taylor have never won in Cleveland. In fact, the Bengals haven't won there since 2017. This has all the makings of another road loss for Cincinnati in the Battle of Ohio, with Burrow having missed training camp and Cincinnati’s tendency to start slow after taking it easy in the preseason.
Week 2 (Sept. 24): Baltimore Ravens at Bengals
Conway: Bengals win, 34-24. I have the Bengals splitting the series with the Ravens this year as one of the more challenging opponents the team will face. I think they win the first meeting at Paycor Stadium.
Goldsmith: Bengals win, 31-24. Without Marlon Humphrey, the Ravens have one of the worst cornerback groups in the NFL. The Bengals have perfected how to take advantage of good matchups.
Williams: Bengals lose, 31-28. The Ravens will be out for revenge after fumbling away the playoff game at Paycor Stadium in January. They’ll have Lamar Jackson under center this time against a team still shaking off the early season rust.
Week 3 (Sept. 25): Los Angeles Rams at Bengals
Conway: Bengals win, 24-17. Projecting the Rams to be one of the worst teams in the NFL this season. Matthew Stafford at quarterback will keep it from being a blowout, but the energy surrounding the game will lift the Bengals.
Goldsmith: Bengals win, 27-13. The Rams went all in for the 2021 season and now are in the early stages of a full-fledged rebuild. The Bengals lost the Super Bowl but are set up for success for a very long window.
Williams: Bengals win, 31-17. Monday Night Football at Paycor against a bad team. Just what Cincinnati’s offense will need to get rolling.
Week 4 (Oct. 1): Bengals at Tennessee Titans
Conway: Bengals win, 27-24. This game will be closer than expected because Mike Vrabel is an excellent defensive coach and will have his guys ready to play. I just don’t think Tennessee’s offense can do enough in the air to keep up with the Bengals’ explosive offense.
Goldsmith: Bengals win, 17-10. Lou Anarumo’s best work has been the way the Bengals defense has kept Patrick Mahomes in check. His second-best work is what the unit has done against Derrick Henry over the last three years.
Williams: Bengals win, 21-14. Burrow’s Bengals have the Titans’ number in Nashville. Expect another low-scoring, grind-it-out game like the last two seasons.
Week 5 (Oct. 8): Bengals at Arizona Cardinals
Conway: Bengals win, 34-10. The Cardinals are expected to be one of the worst teams, if not the worst, in the NFL. Quarterback Kyler Murray likely won’t be back yet and this is an easy win for the Bengals.
Goldsmith: Bengals win, 34-14. The Bengals’ have a very advantageous schedule early in the season to get off to a strong start.
Williams: Bengals win, 31-13. The Cardinals are terrible.
Week 6 (Oct. 15): Seattle Seahawks at Bengals
Conway: Bengals lose, 23-17. Cincinnati is dealt its first loss of the season. Seattle could be the NFC West’s best team, and Pete Carroll’s defense will present challenges for the Bengals they won’t be able to overcome.
Goldsmith: Bengals lose, 17-14. The Seahawks are one of the only teams in the NFL with the talent and athleticism at outside cornerback to play certain aggressive coverages against Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
Williams: Bengals win, 24-20. Seattle overachieved in 2022, partly because QB Geno Smith had a career-best season to win NFL Comeback Player of the Year. It's garnered the Seahawks a lot preseason hype. So what. The Bengals are better, especially at home.
Week 7: Bye
Week 8 (Oct. 29): Bengals at San Francisco 49ers
Conway: Bengals lose, 17-10. The 49ers have the best defensive line in football and the trip out West isn’t an easy one. The Bengals will struggle to score.
Goldsmith: Bengals lose, 28-27. One of the games of the NFL year turns into a shootout between the two teams with the best skill position groups in the NFL.
Williams: Bengals lose, 20-17. The Bengals are 4-13 all-time against the 49ers. And a West Coast trip against a top-five defense in the NFL will be too much for Cincinnati to overcome.
Week 9 (Nov. 5): Buffalo Bills at Bengals
Conway: Bengals win, 27-20. This will be a really close game. Von Miller will be a factor and cause problems for the Bengals’ offensive line, but in the end Buffalo’s offense will be held in check by Lou Anarumo’s defense once again.
Goldsmith: Bengals win, 27-20. The Bills secondary looked slow every time the unit matched up against the Bengals receivers last year.
Williams: Bengals win, 28-24. Evenly matched teams. Emotions will be running high on both sidelines in Damar Hamlin's return to Paycor Stadium. Home-field advantage will be the difference.
Week 10 (Nov. 12): Houston Texans at Bengals
Conway: Bengals win, 37-16. I don’t think Houston will be very good this season with so many young players and a first-year head coach. Bengals win big at home.
Goldsmith: Bengals win, 31-14. The Bengals’ offense is poised to be better than it has ever been, and the Bengals will have a lot of high-scoring games this year.
Williams: Bengals win, 35-10. Exactly the kind of tune-up game the Bengals will need facing a short week heading to Baltimore.
Week 11 (Nov. 16): Bengals at Ravens
Conway: Bengals lose, 20-16. Thursday Night Football at M&T Bank Stadium will be a tough environment for the Bengals. Baltimore’s offense will be hitting its stride with Lamar Jackson more comfortable in new offensive coordinator Todd Monken’s offense.
Goldsmith: Bengals win, 27-20. In the toughest schedule spot of the year for the Bengals, they win on the road in a short week. It’s a sign of the overall strength and resilience of the Bengals’ roster.
Williams: Bengals lose, 27-24. Expect an absolute dogfight between the AFC North's top teams. Baltimore's improved offense coupled with M&T Bank Stadium being one of the toughest places for opposing teams to play at night will lift the Ravens to victory.
Week 12 (Nov. 26): Pittsburgh Steelers at Bengals
Conway: Bengals win, 34-23. The Bengals and Steelers will split the series. The Bengals will take care of business at home on Thanksgiving weekend.
Goldsmith: Bengals lose, 20-14. The Steelers look like a playoff team with arguably the best pass rush in the NFL and an encouraging young quarterback in Kenny Pickett.
Williams: Bengals win, 27-21. The Bengals will be rested − and they'll be extra motivated to avoid back-to-back AFC North losses.
Week 13 (Dec. 4): Bengals at Jacksonville Jaguars
Conway: Bengals lose, 37-34. This game will be one of the most anticipated games of the season. Jacksonville has a ton of weapons and ultimately it will be too much for the Bengals defense. Expect lots of offense in this game.
Goldsmith: Bengals win, 31-28. The Jaguars look ready to make a leap, but they have a very flawed defense that doesn’t match up well against a team as dynamic as the Bengals.
Williams: Bengals win, 35-31. Burrow sends a message to Trevor Lawrence and the ascending Jaguars: You're not yet worthy of AFC elite status.
Week 14 (Dec. 10): Indianapolis Colts at Bengals
Conway: Bengals win, 31-10. The Colts best weapon in running back Jonathan Taylor might not even be playing in Indianapolis by this time. The Colts struggle big time this year and the Bengals roll.
Goldsmith: Bengals win, 24-10. The Bengals will go on another impressive run in the second half, playing their best football down the stretch
Williams: Bengals win, 28-13. Indianapolis is in the same bottom-feeding class as the Texans and Cardinals, and rookie QB Anthony Richardson and the Colts will be playing out the string.
Week 15 (Dec. 17): Minnesota Vikings at Bengals
Conway: Bengals win, 16-13. Expecting this to be a really close game. Minnesota’s Kirk Cousins will make a costly turnover, and the Bengals will make him pay.
Goldsmith: Bengals win, 28-20. The Vikings are another playoff contender whose ceiling is limited by how they defense matches up with a dynamic team like the Bengals. Burrow will have good matchups all over the field.
Williams: Bengals win, 28-17. Vikings are unproven on defense, and they no longer have Dalvin Cook.
Week 16 (Dec. 23): Bengals at Steelers
Conway: Bengals lose, 21-17 At some point, T.J. Watt and Cam Heyward will cause issues for Cincinnati’s offensive line. I’m not sure what Kenny Pickett will be for Pittsburgh in his second season, but Mike Tomlin will have his team ready to fight in December.
Goldsmith: Bengals win, 21-20. One of Burrow’s biggest strengths is cataloging how defenses play against him, making adjustments and figuring out how the Bengals need to play. He bests the Steelers in the rematch.
Williams: Bengals lose, 24-23. The Steelers will still be fighting for a playoff spot, and they're defensive line will shine in a cold one.
Week 17 (Dec. 31): Bengals at Kansas City Chiefs
Conway: Bengals win, 37-34. It will be another classic between Burrow and Patrick Mahomes. Cincinnati will come to Kansas City on a mission and win.
Goldsmith: Bengals lose, 27-24. But they win the rematch four weeks later.
Williams: Bengals lose, 31-28. New Year's Eve. Arrowhead. Rematch of the last two AFC Championship games. Cincinnati won this regular-season matchup at home in 2022. Can't bet against the Chiefs at home.
Week 18 (Jan. 7): Browns at Bengals
Conway: Bengals win, 24-13. The Bengals want to continue to dominate the AFC North. This game will have too many implications on the line. This is the year the Bengals sweep the Browns.
Goldsmith: Bengals win, 27-24. The Bengals wrap up an AFC North title on a high note in front of the home crowd.
Williams: Bengals win, 24-17. What they said.
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This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: NFL: Cincinnati Bengals 2023 season predications
