All eyes on 2026.
As the Cincinnati Bengals wind down their 2025 season, most of the focus is on the offseason, the NFL Draft, and hoping they can get back to playoff contention in 2026. We don’t know exactly when the Bengals will play their games in 2026, but we now know who they will play.
Home and road games against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens, and Cleveland Browns are a given every year, but the 2026 schedule offers some pretty exciting matchups (on paper, at least).
For the home slate, the matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs jumps out at you first. After several regular and postseason meetings in recent years, the Bengals didn’t see the Chiefs this season. They played in 2024 at Arrowhead Stadium, and now, Patrick Mahomes and co. will return to Paycor Stadium in a game that has primetime potential.
The Jacksonville Jaguars will come to Cincinnati for the second straight year, giving us a matchup of two quarterbacks who have gone from exciting young talents to experienced veterans while battling it out a few times to start their careers. Jacksonville is postseason-bound in 2025 and looks to be a team that will be a formidable matchup for years to come.
NFC South opponents will make the trip to Cincinnati when the Baker Mayfield-led Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints come north. Mayfield has found a bit of a career rebirth in Tampa, while New Orleans is excited about their new young quarterback, Tyler Shough.
Cam Ward and the Tennessee Titans will also head to Cincy, led by a new head coach who is yet to be named.
The Bengals will have nine road games, and in terms of miles traveled, it appears they get relatively lucky. There are no West Coast trips on the schedule, and most of their games keep them on the eastern side of the United States.
They will head back to South Beach to take on the Miami Dolphins, who could look much different in 2026 than they did this year. Both Tua Tagovailoa and head coach Mike McDaniel could be gone after this season, so it is hard to tell what kind of team the Bengals will see.
They will make the short trip west on I-70 to take on the Indianapolis Colts, then head to Texas to take on the Houston Texans to finish off their games against the AFC South. Houston’s defense is phenomenal, and Indianapolis looked strong before Daniel Jones went down this season, so these could be two tough matchups.
The Bengals will also head to Charlotte to take on what looks to be a rising Carolina Panthers team led by Bryce Young, and they will also head to Georgia to take on the Atlanta Falcons, finishing out their NFC South schedule.
The lone NFC East team they will play will be on a trip to D.C. to take on the Washington Commanders, which could be a rematch of the back-and-forth contest between Joe Burrow and Jayden Daniels.
As we turn our focus to next season, how many wins do you see for the Bengals in 2026? Let us know in the comments!
Cincinnati Bengals 2026 Opponents
Home Matchups
- Baltimore Ravens
- Cleveland Browns
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- Kansas City Chiefs
- Jacksonville Jaguars
- Tennessee Titans
- New Orleans Saints
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Away Matchups
- Baltimore Ravens
- Cleveland Browns
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- Indianapolis Colts
- Houston Texans
- Miami Dolphins
- Washington Commanders
- Atlanta Falcons
- Carolina Panthers
Category: General Sports
