2018 Cincinnati Bengals Schedule: Full Listing of Dates, Times and TV Info

After two consecutive losing seasons, the Cincinnati Bengals are looking to get back on track in 2018.

They now know what the path back to the playoffs looks like.  

Cincinnati made five consecutive postseason appearances from 2011 to 2015. Although they never advanced past the Wild Card Round, the Bengals were consistently in the mix. Unfortunately for them, they have never seemed to get over a devastating loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round in January 2016.

Along with divisional games, the AFC North matches up with the AFC West and the NFC South for 2018. A 7-9 record was good enough to best the Cleveland Browns in the AFC North, meaning Cincinnati also drew the third-place finishers in the AFC East (Miami Dolphins) and the AFC South (Indianapolis Colts).

Here is a look at the complete schedule for the Bengals in the 2018 regular season, per NFL.com.

Bengals' 2018 Schedule

Week 1: at Indianapolis Colts on Sept. 9 at 1 p.m. ET on CBS

Week 2: vs. Baltimore Ravens on Sept. 13 at 8:20 p.m. ET on NFL Network

Week 3: at Carolina Panthers on Sept. 23 at 1 p.m. ET on CBS

Week 4: at Atlanta Falcons on Sept. 30 at 1 p.m. ET on CBS

Week 5: vs. Miami Dolphins on Oct. 7 at 1 p.m. ET on CBS

Week 6: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers on Oct. 14 at 1 p.m. ET on CBS

Week 7: at Kansas City Chiefs on Oct. 21 at 1 p.m. ET on CBS

Week 8: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Oct. 28 at 1 p.m. ET on Fox

Week 9: BYE

Week 10: vs. New Orleans Saints on Nov. 11 at 1 p.m. ET on Fox

Week 11: at Baltimore Ravens on Nov. 18 at 1 p.m. ET on CBS

Week 12: vs. Cleveland Browns on Nov. 25 at 1 p.m. ET on CBS

Week 13: vs. Denver Broncos on Dec. 2 at 1 p.m. ET on CBS

Week 14: at Los Angeles Chargers on Dec. 9 at 4:05 p.m. ET on CBS

Week 15: vs. Oakland Raiders on Dec. 16 at 1 p.m. ET on CBS

Week 16: at Cleveland Browns on Dec. 23 at 1 p.m. ET on CBS

Week 17: at Pittsburgh Steelers on Dec. 30 at 1 p.m. ET on CBS

Analysis

Only once in Marvin Lewis' 15-year tenure has Cincinnati missed the postseason three straight seasons. In other words, the 59-year-old coach doesn't allow a losing culture to set in under his command. 

At a glance, the Bengals have six games against teams that made the playoffs a season ago. Two other teams—the Baltimore Ravens and the Los Angeles Chargers—missed out because of tiebreakers.

When the schedule came out, Cincinnati fans immediately checked out the team's opening four opponents. Star linebacker Vontaze Burfict will miss the first four games of the season for violating the league's performance-enhancing substance policy. With the Indianapolis Colts, the Baltimore Ravens, the Carolina Panthers and the Atlanta Falcons on tap, the Bengals are going to have to find a way to weather the storm.

If there was any doubt in recent seasons, there is no question now—this is Andy Dalton's team. AJ McCarron has moved on to the Buffalo Bills, with Matt Barkley being signed to fill the backup role. Now it's time for Dalton to bounce back from a rough year.

Not all of the blame for last season can be put on Dalton's shoulders, however. A shaky offensive line led to constant pressure on the quarterback (40 sacks in 2017) and an ineffective ground attack (31st in the NFL). The team addressed its biggest weakness by acquiring left tackle Cordy Glenn from Buffalo.

With an improved line, the 2018 season should see improvement for an offense that ranked dead last in total yards (280.5 yards per game) and 26th in scoring (18.1 points per game). The return of Tyler Eifert and Joe Mixon having a year under his belt should help Dalton move the football. 

One sign of encouragement heading into next season for the Bengals is the way the team finished last year. Despite having their playoff hopes shattered by Pittsburgh in Week 13, Cincinnati played the role of spoiler down the stretch, eliminating both the Detroit Lions and Baltimore from playoff contention in back-to-back weeks.

Pivotal Matchups

As always, divisional games will tell the story.

The first two games every Cincinnati fan circles on the calendar are the Pittsburgh showdowns (Week 6 and Week 17). Despite the Steelers winning six straight meetings, these games always provide plenty of drama.

Pittsburgh has had Cincinnati's number for a while now, but when the Bengals made the playoffs five consecutive years recently, they were able to pull out a victory over their archrival here and there. They beat the Steelers three times in the span of six matchups from 2012 to 2015.

On the other side of the spectrum, Cincinnati has been able to count on Cleveland to provide two wins a season for years. The Bengals have defeated their fellow Ohio team seven straight times by an average of 21.4 points per game. However, with the additions of Tyrod Taylor, Carlos Hyde, Jarvis Landry and others, the Browns could pose some competition following a winless season.

The game against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 1 is one to keep an eye on. It's still unclear how healthy Andrew Luck is or isn't, and when he missed last year's meeting, Cincinnati squeaked out a 24-23 victory, thanks to a clutch play by the defense. If Luck is out once again, that's a game the Bengals will need to take advantage of in a schedule full of Pro Bowl quarterbacks.