The 2023 regular-season schedule will drop on May 11th and the Cincinnati Bengals should be the recipients of several primetime games this season. The stripes have been to back-to-back AFC Championship Games so they're most definitely going to be given the maximum of primetime games.
The NFL allows a maximum of five primetime games for each team but that doesn't include the "Game of the Week" that's the highlight of the late window on Sundays. Primetime games include those played on Thursday night, Sunday night, and Monday night.
With all of that said, let's dive into the Bengals' opponents and break down when the good guys might be playing under the bright lights of primetime.
at Chiefs
Of all the opponents on the Bengals' 2023 schedule, the Kansas City Chiefs are the easiest guess to put as a primetime game for the stripes. This budding rivalry has been a fun one to watch develop over the past two seasons and while the Bengals hold a 3-1 advantage, the one win by KC was in the AFC title game and they went on to win the Super Bowl.
This year's match-up will take place at Arrowhead so this could very well be the NFL season opener. Bengals fans wouldn't want to watch the Chiefs unveil their Super Bowl LVII banner but it would be motivation for the team to get off to a strong start, something they haven't done in the Joe Burrow era.
If this game isn't that first Thursday night game of the year, don't be surprised to see Cincy vs Kansas City as a Sunday night game later on in the season.