The Cincinnati Bengals seem to have a pretty favorable 2020 schedule — on paper.
For now, the Bengals have two primetime games, get four of their road games out of the way over the first six and mostly play their games in the casual 1 p.m. ET slot.
But little about this year is casual for a team punching the reset button. Here’s a look at the top takeaways from the schedule.
Underdogs already
The Bengals open the season with the Chargers coming to Paul Brown Stadium.
Given the trip the Chargers have to make plus the potential for starting a rookie passer by the name of Justin Herbert, one would think the Bengals sit as favorites.
But — for now — it wasn’t meant to be. The Bengals are underdogs, though knowing how they’ve reacted to such a status in the past, it could end up being a good thing.
Burrow faces long odds to start
We don’t need any numbers or history to know Burrow is going to have a hard time against a Chargers defense bringing the heat with Joey Bosa and a host of others.
But ESPN pulled up some numbers that make the outlook seem tougher than anticipated:
Counterpoint — Burrow has one of the best supporting casts in recent memory for a No. 1 pick. If a revamped line is keeping him clean, he might be looking at breaking this mark dating back to 2002.
Trial by (primetime) fire for Burrow
Burrow, and by extension, the Bengals, have a lot to prove to the world right out of the gates.
After an offseason of national chatter slinging potshots at the organization and drumming up false narratives about the No. 1 pick, the Bengals slot right into primetime on a Thursday night in Week 2 against the Cleveland Browns.
What better way to shut down the critics on national television than by besting an in-state rival on the receiving end of a ton of hype again?
Rookie QB showdowns
Burrow vs. rookie quarterbacks is going to be one of the more interesting points to watch in 2020.
He probably gets his first taste of this right in Week 1, assuming a poised rookie like Herbert can beat Tyrod Taylor for a job with the Chargers.
Fast forward to the first week of December, Burrow and Co. hit the road and take on the Miami Dolphins.
Those Dolphins were repeatedly shot down by the Bengals when asking about the No. 1 pick and Burrow. Now Burrow likely gets to square off against Miami’s fallback plan, Tua Tagovailoa.
Battle of Ohio ends before November
Here’s an odd quirk to the schedule — the Bengals won’t play the Browns in the blistering cold this year.
Cincinnati plays at Cleveland in Week 2 on prime time, then plays them again in Week 7 at Paul Brown Stadium, putting a wrap on the Battle of Ohio in the AFC North for 2020 before the calendar even turns to November.
Maybe that’s for the best. Avoiding a Myles Garrett-led pass-rush in freezing temperatures is probably a good thing for a rookie Burrow.
Contingency plans to remember
There are quietly a few notable contingency plans seemingly built into the NFL schedule as the world grapples with the coronavirus pandemic.
There are no divisional games scheduled at all for Weeks 3 and 4. Translation — the NFL could easily flip the opening four games to the back end of the schedule. Eliminate bye weeks in the process and the NFL is almost right on track for a normally-scheduled Super Bowl.
That’d be an unfortunate hypothetical for the Bengals. They’d then open the season in Baltimore and some of the easier games on the schedule — against the Chargers and Jaguars, notably — would happen in January.
Brutal 4-game finisher awaits
If all goes well and the schedule remains the same the Bengals are looking at a brutal end of the season.
Starting on December 13 the Bengals have to play Dallas, Pittsburgh, at Houston and Baltimore. That is four Super Bowl contenders in a row and the Pittsburgh game goes down on Monday Night Football.
Given Cincinnati’s track record against the Steelers and Deshaun Watson alone — it’s a really hard end-of-season run. We’ll see if the Bengals have anything to play for by that point — but those four probably will.
The late winter games against would-be contenders could tell us quite a lot about the 2020 Bengals and how the offseason might go.
