Bengals Shade Browns, Share Pokémon Comparisons for Opponents to Tease 2026 NFL Schedule Release

The Cincinnati Bengals threw shade at the Cleveland Browns ahead of Thursday night's release of the 2026 NFL regular-season schedule.

In a Thursday thread comparing opponents to Pokémon, the Bengals designated the Browns as the trash bag-shaped Trubbish.

The Browns also assigned Pokémon to the remainder of their 2026 opponents, including Klink for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Magikarp for the Miami Dolphins and Zebstrika for the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Jacksonville Jaguars were assigned Meowth, while the Indianapolis Colts got Ponyta and the Washington Commanders got Lechonk.

The Baltimore Ravens, rather than being assigned the avian Pokémon Corviknight, received a screenshot of the return move.

One of the upcoming Ravens-Bengals matchups will mark Trey Hendrickson's return to Cincinnati after the Ravens rescinded their trade for Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby and signed him instead.

As usual, the Bengals are set for one home and road game each against the Ravens, Browns and Steelers.

One date is already set on the Cincinnati schedule. The Bengals are heading to Madrid to play the Atlanta Falcons in Week 9 as part of a record nine-game international slate for the NFL next season.

The Bengals were eliminated from playoff contention last season when they dropped to 4-10 with a Week 15 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

Cincinnati has spent the offseason bolstering the team's defense with a trade for defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence and the signings of Boye Mafe, Bryan Cook, Kyle Dugger and Jonathan Allen.

The Bengals will now hope they've added enough help that star quarterback Joe Burrow can help them snap a three-year postseason drought this winter.

The full Bengals schedule will be released alongside the rest of the league Thursday at 8 p.m. ET.