It's been two years since the Cincinnati Bengals updated their uniforms for the better. Since then, the Bengals have won 27 of 40 games. Coincidence? I think not!

Cincinnati's sleeker new threads compared to its previous design gave the team a needed new look to go with the new direction they opted for when hiring head coach Zac Taylor, and drafting Joe Burrow at quarterback. This aesthetic is entirely linked to the current era of Bengals football, and it fits perfectly. 

Now that we've seen 12 total permutations of the uniform, how does each stack up compared to one another? A tier list might be our best way of accomplishing this since many are very close in terms of ranking.

For those who are unaware, a tier list typically formatted into several different rows, with F Tier at the bottom and S Tier at the top. In-between looks like a traditional school grading system, with C being about average, B being slightly above average, and A being very good. We're going to start at the bottom, and work our way up.

F Tier

White Jersey, Black Pants, Orange Socks

“You don’t wanna be like this. This is disgusting. This is awful in every way. If I could kill it, I would. But I legally can’t.” – YouTuber Markiplier

C Tier

Black Jersey, White+Orange Pants, Orange Socks

Nostalgia for some, but not quite for me as someone who was born in 1996 and wasn’t conscious until the early 2000s. It’s fine, but the orange socks make it appear almost too busy to me. Art is weird. 

Orange Jersey, White+Orange Pants, Orange Socks

I feel as if I enjoy these more than the average observer, but I’m not blind to the pants striping here. It’s very close to being much better. Just needs black stripes to accent the orange on the pants. 

B Tier

Black Jersey, White+Black Pants, Black Socks

I can appreciate the jersey/sock consistency here and the black pants stripes tying it together. It might be a bit bland for some, but this one’s grown on me the most since its debut.

White Jersey, White+Black Pants, Black Socks

Pretty clean, even cleaner than your average standard away combination. It just has the detriment of being compared to other white combinations on this list.

Black Jersey, Black Pants, Orange Socks

Black tops and bottoms will always be clean, and while the orange socks aren’t bad by any means, they’re doing a bit too much for me. It’s nice to go with every once in a while for a change of pace.

White Jersey, Black Pants, White Socks

I’m a sucker for consistency. The white socks matching with the white jersey, and black striping all throughout the uniform looks so crisp to me. Teams need to wear white socks with their white jerseys more often. 

A Tier

Black Jersey, White+Orange Pants, Black Socks

These pants work best with the black jersey since they both utilize orange stripes, and again, same jersey and sock color does it for me. These are perfectly fine as the main home combination.

White Jersey, White Pants, White Socks

This only appeared once, the very regular season game featuring the new uniforms back in 2021. It probably won’t appear again with our S Tier combo now in existence, but it deserves proper respect. So damn clean. 

Black Jersey, Black Pants, Black Socks

Perhaps the sleekest combination the Bengals have. They lost badly to the Cleveland Browns in this fit and have since swapped the black socks for orange. I say that’s cowardice personified. This needs to be brought back.

Orange Jersey, Black Pants, Orange Socks

They really hid this for like 10 years before bringing it back late in the Marvin Lewis era—such a flabbergasting move. Black stripes on an orange background all throughout the uniform like an actual tiger. Orange socks to match the jersey. One of the best alternates in the game.

S Tier

White Bengal

I mean, did you expect anything different? The crazy thing is this isn’t even the best it could possibly look. Using the regular white jerseys instead would make it the greatest uniform in NFL history. Despite the slight imperfection of white stripes on a black background, this is the best alternate use of a team’s namesake we’ve seen. 

Bengals: Timing matters regarding Joe Burrow’s extension

Burrow would be wise to wait until another QB signs on the dotted line.

Featured image via © Sam Greene/The Enquirer via Imagn Content Services, LLC