NFL Says Bengals Wanted Yearly Black Friday Game; Jets vs. Dolphins Scheduled in 2023

When they heard the NFL was planning on playing an inaugural Black Friday game next season, the Cincinnati Bengals were one of the first teams to throw their hats in the ring for consideration, according to ESPN's Ben Baby.

One of the most successful franchises over the last few seasons, the Bengals wanted the league to make a Bengals Black Friday game an annual tradition, much like the Detroit Lions' Thanksgiving Day game.

"The Cincinnati Bengals actually raised their hand and volunteered and said, 'We'd be happy to host the first Black Friday game,'" said Mike North, the league's vice president of broadcast planning, said. "'In fact, we'd be happy to make this a tradition. How about Black Friday in Cincinnati every year?' I'm sure that will be something we explore moving forward."

It didn't pan out, however, as the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets were dealt the marquee matchup.

Amazon will broadcast the Black Friday game on Prime Video and reportedly asked the NFL to place one of the New York teams in that slot so the inaugural matchup could feature the country's biggest retail market.

It thought that setup would be a "fun way" to kick things off.

As for the Bengals, though they didn't get the Black Friday game like they hoped, they were picked for four prime-time games next season when the schedule was revealed Thursday.

And after reaching the Super Bowl in the 2021 season and AFC title game in 2022, coach Zac Taylor is happy his team is getting recognized on a national scale and that their success is bearing fruit.

"That comes with the territory," Taylor said. "We take great pride in being a team that people want to watch. We've got expectations to live up to that way."