When it comes to Cincinnati's bye week during the 2024 NFL season, the league did the Bengals a favor. Cincinnati's bye week comes in Week 12, which is an ideal time to have a bye. At that point, the Bengals will have the bulk of the season behind them, and they'll probably be pretty banged up collectively.
A Week 12 buy affords them an opportunity to rest up for the final stretch of the season and what they hope will be a playoff push. They'll need that rest too, as their final six games after the bye include three games against other AFC North rivals.
Some might argue that Week 12 is a tad bit late for the bye, but the counter is that late is better than early. For instance, the Philadelphia Eagles have a Week 5 bye. At that point, they'll have only played four games, and then they'll have to play 13 consecutive games without a break after the bye leading into the playoffs. That's a tough stretch.
Before and after the bye
By the time the Bengals' bye rolls around, they will have basically played two-thirds of their season. Only the final third (and hopefully) some postseason play will follow. Here's a look at how the Bengals schedule breaks down, before and after the bye.
Games before bye week
- Week 1: New England Patriots
- Week 2: at Kansas City Chiefs
- Week 3: Washington Commanders (Monday night)
- Week 4: at Carolina Panthers
- Week 5: Baltimore Ravens
- Week 6: at New York Giants
- Week 7: at Cleveland Browns
- Week 8: Philadelphia Eagles
- Week 9: Las Vegas Raiders
- Week 10: at Baltimore Ravens (Thursday night)
- Week 11: at Los Angeles Chargers
Games after bye week
- Week 13: Pittsburgh Steelers
- Week 14: at Dallas Cowboys (Monday night)
- Week 15: at Tennessee Titans
- Week 16: Cleveland Browns (Thursday night)
- Week 17: Denver Broncos
- Week 18: at Pittsburgh Steelers
The hope here is that the Bengals will be well-rested for that final stretch of the season. The division will likely still be up for grabs at that point, and with three games against AFC North rivals, Cincinnati should still have a whole heck of a lot to play for after the bye week.