The 2024 NFL schedule hasn't been released yet, but it will be in the near future. In the meantime, we already know a whole lot about the Cincinnati Bengals' slate, including opponents and locations of games. All that we're missing is the dates, really, and those will be known soon enough.
Given the information that we currently have, here are three key things to know about Cincinnati's schedule for the upcoming 2024 campaign.
Bengals will face four new head coaches
Zac Taylor will be entering his sixth season as the head coach of the Bengals, but several of the coaches he will be matching up against in 2024 will be in their first season of duty. Dan Quinn of the Washington Commanders, Dave Canales with the Carolina Panthers, Jim Harbaugh with the Los Angeles Chargers and Jerod Mayo of the New England Patriots are all heading into their first season with their respective franchises.
All of those teams are coming off of underwhelming campaigns -- hence the coaching changes -- so they are games where the Bengals could have an advantage, especially in the continuity department. It will be intersting to see how they fare in these contests.
A chance for Burrow to back up his Chiefs talk
Joe Burrow will get an opportunity to back up his recent comments about Kansas City, as the Bengals are slated to play against the Chiefs next season. The game will take place in Kansas City.
In case you missed Burrow's comments, here's what he had to say about the Chiefs:
"We both work really hard at what we do. They got great players, we've got great players. I think we match up pretty well with them. We're kind of built to beat them... Both teams have big time players on defense, big time defensive lines, so it makes for great matchups."
it's must-watch television every time that the Bengals and Chiefs square off against each other, and these recent comments from Burrow should only add fuel to the fire on both sides.
Cincinnati projected to have an "easier" schedule
After they missed out on the playoffs last season, the NFL schedule makers gave the Bengals a gift for the 2024 season. According to Sharp Football Analysis, the Bengals have one of the league's easiest schedules for next season, based on projected win totals.
The Bengals didn't make it into the top five when it comes to easiest schedules for next season, but they're right on the outside of that group, coming in at No. 6. The five teams with the easiest schedules are the Atlanta Falcons, Los Angeles Chargers, Chicago Bears, New York Jets and New Orleans Saints.
Now, there's really no such thing as an "easy" schedule in the NFL. As we've seen time and again, any team can beat any other team on any given Sunday. So, it feels somewhat silly to use that adjective. But, it will stll be interesting to see if the Bengals can take advantage of what projects to be a somewhat softer schedule.