There are no better benefits for a football team than home-field advantage or getting a bye week to get rested and healthy. Well, the NFL gave the Green Bay Packers both for their future matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals.
The NFL on Thursday night released the entire slate for the 2025-26 season, and the Bengals' schedule includes a Week 6 meeting against the Packers at 4:25 p.m. ET on Oct. 12 at Lambeau Field. It's scheduled to be on CBS.
Packers get benefits of Lambeau Field and bye week
The Bengals will host the Detroit Lions in Week 5 after back-to-back road trips to Minnesota and Denver. The Lions were the No. 1 team in the NFC last year after going 15-2 during the regular season.
While the Bengals are dealing with the Lions, the Packers will be resting and enjoying their bye week while also preparing for Joe Burrow & Co for an extra week. The Packers have won three of their last four games that followed a bye week. The last time Green Bay lost a home game after a bye week was way back in 2017 to the Lions. The Packers were a dreadful 7-9 that season, though.
Even without the benefit of a bye week, the Packers were 11-6 the last two seasons at home. That trip to Green Bay will be the Bengals' fourth road game in just the first six weeks of the season. At least for the Bengals, though, Lambeau Field isn't a frozen tundra yet in mid-October.
Last year, the Packers went 11-6 during the regular season, so have proven they don't need anymore help to find success. Meanwhile, the Bengals struggled last year at 9-8 and hope to get back on track, but the NFL certainly didn't nudge the Bengals in the right direction with the schedule they were dealt.
The Bengals won't relish their bye week until Week 10. It's sandwiched between hosting the Chicago Bears and a visit to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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