Bengals get a huge advantage with 2023 schedule
Remember the old 16-game NFL schedule, which made so much more sense with 32 teams? It's already been three years since the league made the switch to its 17-game schedule, giving half of the teams an extra home game, and the other half an extra road game, and switching off every year. In 2023, the […]
Remember the old 16-game NFL schedule, which made so much more sense with 32 teams? It's already been three years since the league made the switch to its 17-game schedule, giving half of the teams an extra home game, and the other half an extra road game, and switching off every year.
In 2023, the AFC will be granted an extra home matchup and play nine compared to eight on the road. This not only grants the Cincinnati Bengals one more opportunity to play inside Paycor Stadium, it also limits the amount of distance they'll have to travel during the year.
In fact, the total distance they'll travel this season isn't very large at all.
The Bengals will be trekking across the country this season for a total of 11,942 miles. 31 other teams will be traveling further (from a linear sense), giving the reigning AFC North champions the easiest travel schedule of the year.
Cincinnati is already considered a midwestern city, making it pretty centralized relative to other NFL clubs. It also helps that while they play the AFC South and NFC West, that's only four road games in total.
The Bengals will make it out to the pacific coast just once when they play the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara, CA. The Arizona Cardinals will also host the Bengals in Glendale, AZ.
Other NFC teams on the docket are the Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks, and Minnesota Vikings. All of those games will be played in Cincinnati, saving the team from traveling across the country a handful of times.
As for the AFC teams not in their division, the Bengals will have to travel to face the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans for their AFC South rotation. The Kansas City Chiefs are the only other non-divisional AFC team they'll face on the road.
Not only should this benefit the players, Bengals fans based in and around Cincinnati will have it easier taking trips to watch the team on the road with shorter flights. The Bengals are an impressive 13-7 on the road since 2021 (including postseason games), and more and more Bengals fans have been populating visiting stadiums.
Rack up those miles on your airline rewards cards while you can, because the Bengals' schedule won't do you many favors this year.
