With a final roster set, the injury dominoes falling and practice underway for Week 1, now feels like a good time to revisit 2019 predictions for the Cincinnati Bengals.
Here’s a game-by-game breakdown with a projected record at the end.
Week 1: at Seattle
The Bengals, with a first-year head coach and patchwork offensive line and down a star player, aren’t going to Seattle and beating a Seahawks team that has won 10 home openers in a row. The offensive line looked good in the preseason — that won’t be the case when pre-snap looks get serious and the line has to account for talents like Jadeveon Clowney.
Verdict: Loss
Week 2: vs. San Francisco
A strong Bengals pass rush is going to get after Jimmy Garoppolo early and often. A west coast team coming as far as Cincinnati should give the Bengals an advantage, as should a soft-looking defense that Joe Mixon should exploit.
Verdict: Win
Week 3: at Bills
Luckily for the Bengals, Josh Allen is still erratic and learning on the fly while surrounded by a not-so-great supporting cast. Provided the Bengals can get some pressure and force Allen into mistakes, this looks like a game they can win, provided they aren’t overlooking it for the sake of the next one.
Verdict: Win
Week 4: at Pittsburgh
Marvin Lewis was 8-24 against Pittsburgh and miserable in primetime. How much do those things change under Zac Taylor? Unfortunately for the Bengals, Pittsburgh still has plenty of pieces offensively and Devin Bush looks like the best ‘backer the team has had since Ryan Shazier, which completely reshapes the entire unit.
Verdict: Loss
Week 5: vs. Arizona
Kyler Murray has some fun playmaking ability and upside, but he’s also a rookie who could end up pulverized by a good Bengals pass rush while far away from home. Provided the Bengals can account for old friend Terrell Suggs, this looks like a win.
Verdict: Win
Week 6: at Baltimore
This is where things could really start to crumble, especially if A.J. Green isn’t back on the field. All Baltimore has done this offseason is smartly upgrade around Lamar Jackson, upgrade the running game and add a rare talent like Earl Thomas to the defense, the last point an x-factor who can punish Dalton before and after the snap.
Verdict: Loss
Week 7: vs. Jacksonville
Is everyone healthy? Is Green on the field (and not looking for a UFC fight with Jalen Ramsey)? Is Tyler Eifert still going? Lots of unfortunate variables going into a game against a strong defense (at least on paper). The Bengals should be able to win this one, especially if they can pressure regular-season Nick Foles enough.
Verdict: Win
Week 8: vs. Rams (London)
Forget it. The Rams are veterans of the international games at this point and that means quite a bit. So does Aaron Donald feasting on this Bengals offensive line that went into the summer trying to move their left tackle to guard and can’t get a former first-round pick to win a starting job at center. Sean McVay isn’t going to drop a game to one of his understudies just yet.
Verdict: Loss
Week 10: vs. Baltimore
The Bengals won five games off a bye under Marvin Lewis over 16 seasons. For whatever reason, the extra prep time didn’t help. This would hopefully change under Taylor, but it’s also going to greatly depend on the status of A.J. Green and whether the line in front of Dalton has found any consistency. At home, call this the split game, as the Bengals usually play the Ravens well.
Verdict: Win
Week 11: at Oakland
Make it two in a row. The Raiders can’t rush the passer and seem more primed for reality television than football games. Antonio Brown is still a great and Tyrell Williams is criminally underrated. Rookie back Josh Jacobs should be fun too. But the Bengals offense should cruise, provided the jetlag doesn’t hit too hard.
Verdict: Win
Week 12: vs. Pittsburgh
One more Marvin Lewis note: He won twice at home against the Steelers over 16 years. Pittsburgh seems like that team that usually turns it on near the end of the season, which won’t be an exception here. By now, Ben Roethlisberger should have a good rapport with his reshuffled cast of weapons and an improved defense will have plenty of film on what the Bengals are trying to accomplish offensively.
Verdict: Loss
Week 13: vs. New York Jets
This one is tougher than it seems. The Jets seem to have something with Sam Darnold and he’s got a superb supporting cast, starting with Le’Veon Bell and including Robby Anderson. That Jets defense has a borderline elite front seven and an elite safety in Jamal Adams. It’s a brew of factors that can exploit where the Bengals are bad, namely at linebacker and offensive line.
Verdict: Loss
Week 14: at Cleveland
Are the Browns in contention for the playoffs? Does it matter? Baker Mayfield routed the Bengals a year ago. We can argue the same thing won’t happen again because things can’t be nearly as bad as a year ago under a fired defensive coordinator. But if the Bengals are fading, a roadtrip tasking the offensive line with stopping Myles Garrett, Larry Ogunjobi, Sheldon Richardson and Olivier Vernon is, well, good luck.
Verdict: Loss
Week 15: vs. New England
Does this need a blurb? Tom Brady last played the Bengals in 2016 and threw for 376 yards and three scores in a 35-17 win. If there is anything that is going to exploit things like carrying four linebackers and a bad offensive line, it’s Tom Brady and Bill Belichick out in the elements.
Verdict: Loss
Week 16: at Miami
Miami seems fully engaged in tank mode and at this stage should be in a fight for the first overall pick. Which isn’t to discredit the Bengals — the pass rush should bully either potential starter under center for Miami and unless somebody like Minkah Fitzpatrick makes a game-changing play, the Bengals should squeak past.
Verdict: Win
Week 17: vs. Cleveland
Good luck figuring this one out. Are the Browns resting starters because they’ve lived up to the hype? Is the game meaningless for both parties? We’ve seen Bengals players rally around Marvin Lewis when it didn’t matter, so let’s say they rally around Taylor here to finish strong at home.
Verdict: Win
Final Record: 8-8. Bengals fans would like a better mark, but looking at the roster and injuries already suffered — with more surely to come — this feels like the upper ceiling for the 2019 Bengals. And if it is, that shouldn’t discourage fans, who should simply be happy the franchise is finally heading in a new direction.
