The 2019 NFL season is less than 100 days away, and the Seattle Seahawks are hard at work preparing to field the best possible team this year. First on their list will be the Cincinnati Bengals, who they will host in Week 1.
Since the Bengals are first on the docket for the Seahawks to face, this game will actually bring up a very peculiar question – will this finally be the time Pete Carroll beats the Bengals?
At first glance, this question seems to have the exceedingly obvious answer of “of course he will.” Especially considering Carroll has been one of the best head coaches in the league for some time now, while the Bengals have consistently been one of the most underachieving and disappointing franchises.
However, at a closer look, this question brings up an unusual statistic . . . Pete Carroll has actually never defeated the Bengals as a head coach. Although his record is only 0-2 against the team from the Queen City – both with Seattle, as he never faced them in the four years he led the Jets or Patriots – the “0” stands out a bit more since it is one of only two teams he has yet to notch a win against. The other team is the Seattle Seahawks.
Carroll’s first meeting against the Bengals came in Seattle during the 2011 campaign. Cincinnati was on a hot streak, winning their last three games with then-rookie quarterback Andy Dalton. The Bengals extended their winning ways to four straight as they dominated the Seahawks 34-12. Interestingly enough, then-rookie cornerback Richard Sherman earned his first career interception in this game.
The Seahawks would not face the Bengals again until Week 5 of the 2015 season. Seattle had just clawed its way back to 2-2 after an 0-2 start and was traveling to play the red hot 4-0 Bengals. The Seahawks started looking like their normal, dominant selves as they built a 24-7 lead through three quarters
Unfortunately, Seattle suffered the worst collapse in franchise history and allowed the Bengals to score 20 unanswered points through the fourth quarter and overtime to lose 27-24.
Now the Seahawks host the Bengals once more in Seattle. The Seahawks should clearly be favored as they are coming off a resurgent season and the Bengals appear to be rebuilding once more. However, given his age and the four-year rotation these two teams have when it comes to playing each other, this very well may be Carroll’s last chance to defeat Cincinnati.
